The Dragon's Jewel
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: Harry finds a special jewel before the First Task. Between vanishing during the first task, and finding objects, what powers does the jewel possess? Possible Kurama/Harry in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Harry wasn't a happy camper. He had been forced into a deadly tournament against his will, and now Ron refused to talk to him out of jealously. Hermione stood by him, but she was only making thing worse by trying to get the boys to talk.

While she was a brilliant friend, she simply didn't understand people as well as she believed.

So he managed to get some peace and quiet by lying about talking to Ron alone. Instead he ditched everyone who was stalking him and went down by the lake shore. It was peaceful, serene.

As he walked along the shore (ignoring the creaking ship about five hundred meters away), he felt calmer than he had in weeks.

He found a medium sized rock, not covered in algae, surprisingly, and sat down. The lake lapped at the shore, uncaring of his troubles. While he relaxed, he took in what was around him.

There were several students nearby, but it appeared that they couldn't see him at all.

As he leaned back into the rock, enjoying on of the rare days that the sun was under a cloudless sky, he felt his hand touch something.

His hand closed on the object.

It felt smooth, and round. It was also small, roughly the size of a large gumball from a vending machine. Harry brought it to view.

It looked like a pearl of some sort. It was a smooth pearly ball the color of a star in the night sky. It seemed to have an inner shine to it.

He put the ball like thing in his pocket.

* * *

Hermione found Harry two hours later, and she was furious.

"Harry, why did you lie to me?"

Harry glared at her.

"Because I wanted a few hours to myself. Between you, the Hufflepuffs, and the teachers, I never have a moment to myself! Is it too much to ask for some peace?"

Hermione looked slightly ashamed of herself.

"You could have told me you wanted some space. There is no reason you had to lie," she said.

"You would have followed me," Harry defended.

She didn't deny it. For the next week Harry escaped to that rock as often as he could, often bringing his homework with him or a book to read. Hermione attempted several times to find this mysterious rock, but to Harry's amazement (and secret relief) even when she followed him, practically dogging his footsteps, she never saw it. Every time she got close to it, her eyes would be averted to the forest.

It was like there was a charm that repelled everyone but him.

* * *

Harry was on his rock, trying to find a way to get past a dragon when he spotted a small water moccasin. Though why a snake of that breed was in England, he had no idea. He thought it was restricted to the colonies.

The snake slithered onto the rock and ignored Harry completely. So Harry paid it the same courtesy. After all, it wasn't like he had an unfounded grudge against snakes. (RON)

As he read in peace, he never noticed that the snake ended up slithering into his lap, following the warmth.

When he did look down, he hissed it at it.

"_I don't mind you borrowing my body heat, just don't try to strangle or bite me and we'll get along fine."_

"_Sensible, for a human. I agree to your terms Speaker. Just warn me if you're about to move."_

"_Fair enough."_

And so the two spent the afternoon in relative peace. Aside from hearing at least three people yelling for Harry. He knew that they worried about him because of his fame, but couldn't they give him a few day's peace?

It did not help that Harry heard the distinct voice of McGonagall.

When the light began to draw to a close, Harry hissed an apology before he gently moved the small snake onto the spot where he had been sitting for the past three hours. His back hurt until he popped it back into place.

"_If you don't want your bones to creak, try sitting in a different way,"_ suggested the snake.

"_How?"_

"_I believe the humans call it the Indian style? The cross their legs and place their hands on their knees."_

"_Oh, you mean meditate. I suppose I could give it a try."_

* * *

The next time he managed to escape, he was reading a book on dragons. Or their physiology at least. He hoped that it would give him_ some_ insight as to how he was supposed to get pass one.

The water moccasin was there again. Harry did as it suggested, and noted with interest that his back wasn't hurting like last time after an hour had passed. It had apparently come to the decision that his lap was it's bed.

Not that Harry particularly minded. He liked snakes...provided you weren't talking about Malfoy or some of the Upper years in Slytherin.

Finally the snake grew bored.

"_What are you reading, hatchling?"_

"_A book on dragons. Specifically what their make up is like."_

The snake seemed highly amused by that answer.

"_And what drove you to read that?"_

"_The first task of this blasted tournament is to defeat a dragon, or to get past one at any rate."_

"_Why don't you just ask if it would let you through? Dragons understand Speakers just as easily as serpents."_

"_They do?"_

The snake hissed, and Harry didn't understand him...then he realized it was _laughing _at him.

"_You honestly have no idea, do you. Serpents and Dragons share a common ancestry. In fact the word you humans use for Speaker was originally called Dracotongue."_

"_Really?"_

"_All you have to do is be respectful about it, and I'm fairly certain that the dragon would help you...unless the humans were stupid enough to remove a mother from her nest, in which case you're doomed."_

"_Damn. I overheard Charlie mentioning 'nesting mothers'."_

The snake hissed in sympathy. The poor boy was doomed unless he could distract the mother long enough to do what he needed.

"_I've been meaning to ask this...but aren't water moccasins usually restricted to the Americas?"_

"_I'm a special case. I came here to find something before a human did."_

"_Find what?"_

"_A special jewel. The only problem is that if a human finds it before I do, there's a good chance that they would be cursed to Hell."_

"_Why?"_

"_Long story short, humans are too greedy to possess it. They would use it, and be cursed."_

"_Wish I could help. But if it's around here, chances are that a student has already found it...especially since a good portion of them have been out around the lake recently looking for me. And I would need my invisibility cloak to avoid them all."_

"_Drat. If you hear about a student suddenly gaining wealth or fame, let me know and point them out. That is a sure sign that they have the jewel."_

"_I'll keep an ear out. With this school, any news like that would be heard by even the first years. And I happen to have a gossip-monger in my year."_

"_Thank you."_

* * *

Harry stood in the tent. He was terrified, but he knew there was no choice. He had to go through with this. Though there was a nagging thought in his mind about whether it was worth all the trouble he was going through.

_Is magic really worth all this crap?_

To be honest with himself, he was having doubts as to why he was going through all this. Sure, he loved magic, but that didn't mean he couldn't live without it. Muggles had come a _long_ way to replacing the need for most of it.

Though he would never tell Ron that.

As he drew his dragon, he knew without a doubt he was doomed. Even the odd pearl he found by the shore didn't soothe his nerves. He had discreetly borrowed some of Hermione's knitting thread and strung the pearl from the small hole he discovered. It now hung around his neck.

His turn came all too soon for his liking.

He walked out, and the roar of the crowd nearly deafened him. Then another roar came from the left.

Harry ducked, and barely missed getting roasted.

The horntail was in a very foul mood. He didn't know if he would have a chance to try what the snake suggested. As he ducked and weaved, he realized that there was no way he would be able to get close at this rate.

So he did something reckless.

He dove between the dragon's front legs, narrowly avoiding it's teeth. His right hand brushed against the jewel as he wished to himself...

_'If only the dragon couldn't see me!'_

Suddenly he noted a change in the crowd's roar.

From excited to very confused.

"_Where did he go?"_ seemed to be the general cry.

It seemed the dragon couldn't find him either. So he took his change and grabbed the fake egg. By the time the dragon figured out what had happened, he had dashed into the tent. That was when the crowd heard the distinct yelp of Madam Pomphrey. And everyone _definitely_ heard her yell at Harry for sneaking in like that.

Harry decided to end the confusion by popping his head out of the tent and holding the egg out for _everyone_ to see. That settled the matter.

For his little disappearing trick, he earned a total of 35 points. It would have been an even forty, except the Durmstrang headmaster was being an idiot.

* * *

Harry was not surprised to discover that Ron switched sides again. This time he came slinking back to be his friend. But Harry had quite enough of traitors.

"Ron, tell me this. Is how you were acting _before_ the first task ANY different than the way Pettigrew acted when he became my parent's secret keeper? I thought I could trust you to believe me, and instead you decide that I was a glory hound! How am I supposed to trust you now?" asked Harry, glaring at him.

Hermione was about to debate that, until she really thought about what he said. He had a point. Ron should have known after all these years that Harry had no need for fame or money. He barely knew what to do with the money his parents left him!

The next morning saw a change in the former Golden Trio. Ron had officially been removed from the equation. Harry wanted nothing to do with him until the year was over.

In his place, Neville had stepped up to the plate. Though his position looked tenuous at best.

Until Harry realized that not only was Neville _not_ yelling for him every time he escaped to his secret place, but he knew his friend was fine and in need of some space. When he asked the boy why he never bothered to look for him, his response cemented his place as part of the group.

"I don't see the point of looking for you when you disappear. You're always been watched between classes, and I didn't really see any reason why you don't deserve _some_ time to yourself."

That was the nicest thing he had ever heard someone say at the school. He knew he had picked the wrong friend that day on the train. Somehow, he knew that someone had set that little scenario up as well.

"Neville, do you know if the train has ever run out of compartments?"

"Not to my knowledge. Gran once mentioned that it was spelled to add compartments when needed. Sometimes it does it when someone wants to be alone, and a new car is added just to fulfill that."

"So there has never been an instance of all the cars being full," Harry clarified.

"No."

That settled things. Harry knew someone had deliberately made sure Ron would enter his car. And armed with that knowledge, Harry laid down the terms to the twins so they could pass it on to Ron. If he didn't want to follow them, that was his problem.

(Secretly the twins agreed the terms were quite reasonable, considering Ron had been spreading some malicious lies to the foreign students about Harry.)

* * *

Harry sat on the rock as usual, with the snake in his lap. This time he had brought his owl, and told her firmly she was not allowed to eat the snake.

That had brought about a rather interesting conversation with the snake in question, who apparently understood human tongue better than Harry had guessed.

"_I doubt she would have been able to eat me anyway."_

"_Why's that?"_

"_I'm not really a snake. I only look like one out of the water. Besides, snakes aren't allowed in this area."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Aster didn't like his smaller cousins that much because they could go about as they pleased. So he left an order that is still carried out for the next ten years until they realize he's gone."_

"_Who's Aster?"_

That had the 'snake' looking at him oddly.

"_Surely you've meet him before. Only his blood would allow you to be at this spot."_

Harry thought about that, and then it came to him who the 'snake' was referring to.

"_The basilisk that lived in the Chamber under the lake?"_

"_That's Aster. He wasn't too happy that he was stuck down there because of Salazar's spell."_

"_I feel sorry for him. Because he was being controlled I had to stick a sword through him. I don't mind snakes unless they are trying to kill me."_

"_What a sensible way of looking at things. Most people don't normally mind beings unless they believe they are about to die. You must be the first human in a long time who at least gives creatures a chance to explain."_

"_So the only reason I'm able to sit here and have the most intelligent conversation in years is because Aster managed to bite me?"_

"_He bit you? How extraordinary! You must have had a phoenix nearby to survive that."_

"_Fawkes had come in at least ten minutes earlier," _Harry admitted.

"_Well at least his bloodline won't run out."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Anyone who survives a basilisk's bite carries their bloodline forever. I believe the humans who restrict magic call it Creature Inheritance. The only reason people don't know about it is because it's quite difficult for anyone outside a dragon to know who has it."_

"_What does it do?"_

"_Essentially you are forever immune to another Basilisk's venom and gaze...also spiders will never like you again."_

"_I don't like spiders much. I can tolerate them being around, but I don't like them."_

"_Spiders don't like anybody who isn't a spider. And even then they sometimes eat their own."_

From that point on Harry mostly asked intelligent questions about Creature inheritance, and what types there were. Before he forgot, he finally asked the snake's name.

"_My name is Ceres. Rather bland for my kind, but I suppose it couldn't be helped. Mother never was very original."_

"_I suppose I shall see you tomorrow, Ceres."_

"_Good day to you, little Speaker."_

For the next week Harry unsuccessfully attempted to figure out the clue to the next phase. Finally, a full week before the next task, he took the egg with him to the rock. Ceres eyed it with mistrust.

"_What is THAT supposed to be?"_

"_A clue to the next task. But all I can get out of it is this horrible racket."_

"_Let me hear it. I happen to be very good at languages."_

Harry took out his wand and tapped it twice on both of his ears. The sound immediately became muffled, and he carefully opened the egg.

Ceres tapped him once on the leg, and he closed it. The charm promptly went off.

"_That...was most unpleasant. I had forgotten how bad Merpeople sounded above ground. And that sounded quite like one of the Mermaids from the Lake."_

"_There are mermaids in the lake?"_

"_An entire colony, at the very least. I could go ask if they know anything about this task you're supposed to do."_

"_Thank you."_

"_You're very welcome hatchling. Most speakers usually order a snake about, but you're the first I have met who was polite when he asks for something."_

Ceres slithered into the lake, and Harry waited patiently. While he waited he took out a book he had thought to bring with him. It was a detailed explanation of dragons. (After the first task he was seriously considering becoming a dragon tamer like Charlie Weasly.)

Ceres returned rather smug two hours later.

"_It was a bit difficult to find the colony. Apparently someone told them not to mention it to anyone unless asked by someone appropriate. It took a bit of convincing to remind them that I was __an appropriate creature to talk to, since I usually spend time here to visit the squid."_

Harry gave him an odd look.

"_You visit the squid?"_

"_Children fascinate me. And the squid watches your kind more than you realize. According to the chief of the Mermaid colony, the task involves you rescuing someone from the bottom of the lake in under an hour. Quiet ridiculous really, since it would take a human at least forty five minutes to reach the bottom."_

"_What does the squid have to say about this test?"_

"_He wasn't too happy about it. Dumbledore is a tad forgetful about certain things, and he likes children too much. Except for the ones who test out nasty spells by casting them in his direction."_

"_Slytherins, probably."_

"_He is a bit disappointed that no one throws tangerines in the lake anymore. He loves those."_

That was when Harry had an idea.

"_Do you think the giant squid would mind helping me if I asked? I could easily get a hold of some tangerines for him."_

"_He might help you get to the bottom and back up, but rescuing the person that was taken would be up to you. The mermaids don't particularly like the squid. Something about him being too friendly to the humans."_

Ceres vanished into the lake again and came back fifteen minutes later.

"_He said he'd help, in exchange for ten tangerines. I recommend you find a spell that allows you to breathe underwater for half an hour. Gillyweed wears off in an hour, but the taste is horrible from what I've heard."_

"_Thank you Ceres. I know just the person to ask for help in finding that spell."_


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione was quite surprised that he had discovered the clue by himself. And once he asked her for help in the library, she dove into charm books with a fervor.

It took less than three days of her frantic reading to discover the incantation for the bubble-head charm. After that, it was more of an issue with saying the words right. For some reason Harry simply couldn't say them correctly.

So he went straight to the Charms teacher for help.

"The bubble-head charm is difficult, mostly because you need to stress the vowels," chirped Professor Flitwick cheerfully. He gave Harry the proper incantation, and after that he didn't have any more trouble with the spell.

Just in time too.

* * *

Harry held the bag that Dobby had given him. Time to see if what the snake had told him was true. Before he dove into the water, he threw a few tangerines into the lake. The crowd was mystified as to why...until they spotted the giant squid heading in their direction.

Two long gray tentacles reached out and grabbed the fruits, and as Harry dove into the water, he cast the charm. Before the squid sped off into the middle of the lake. Harry grabbed one of it's tentacles.

He reached the merfolk colony in less than five minutes. The squid gave him some help in diving, as it used the tentacle he was holding on to throw him in the general direction.

Once clear of the squid, he swam. The charm made it easier for him to see the lake. There, in the middle of the colony were four posts, each with a hostage. Harry spotted Neville, who now that the thought about it, had been missing since last night with Hermione.

She was there too, two posts away from him. Harry vaguely recognized the Chinese girl from Ravenclaw, but the younger girl looked vaguely like Fluer...who had just been sidetracked by grindylows if he had seen right. There was a good chance that she wouldn't reach her hostage at all.

So Harry took out the dagger he discovered in the room he had been practicing the bubble-head charm. It was a strange room to find on the seventh floor, but then again Hogwarts thrived on strange things.

There had been an inscription in Latin, which he planned to look up once this was over.

Harry cut away the ropes that secured Neville to the post. As he did, he saw what appeared to be a misshapen great white.

It took him a few seconds to realize that it was Krum who hadn't pulled off his transformation. Five minutes after Krum appeared and retrieved his hostage (Hermione) Cedric arrived and attempted to retrieve his. Harry tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the sharp rocks below. Cedric took the hint and grabbed one.

Since Fluer had been ahead of the boys, Harry knew that the chances of her coming now were next to nill. She must not have made it past the grindylows.

Before the Mermaids could stop him, he cut away the ropes that bound the younger girl and swam as hard as he could towards the gray blob above.

The squid grabbed Harry and his passengers once he was far enough from the mermaid colony that they wouldn't attack _him_ as well.

As it turned out, he barely passed the time limit set. He was only five minutes behind. Krum had been three, and Cedric had been right behind him. Once Harry and the other two were safely on the dock, Harry dumped the rest of the tangerines into the water.

Hermione finally asked why he brought them to begin with.

"In exchange for helping me I promised him ten tangerines. I heard from a reliable source that it would have taken me at least forty-five minutes to reach the colony otherwise."

"Who told you?" asked Neville, curious.

"The same person who told me the giant squid has a love for tangerines. I'll not name the source out loud."

(Later he confided to them that he had learned about it from a snake named Ceres. And that ended the matter as far as his friends were concerned.)

* * *

Harry gulped audibly when he learned that he would have to dance. It was even worse when he realized that since he was not only a champion but the boy-who-lived, the girls had honed in on him like sharks to blood.

(He was thoroughly surprised when a first year Slytherin asked him out.)

Finally he was so fed up with the girls that he fled to his rock. Ceres seemed highly amused at his predicament.

"_Why not ask a girl who isn't stalking you?"_

Harry looked past his rock miserably. Not ten feet away was a large group of girls trying to find him. Never before had he been so grateful for the rock's enchantment which made it impossible to find. All except for a lone pale blond wearing Ravenclaw colors. She was walking around barefoot with a dreamy gaze on her face. The other girls regarded her with disdain.

So Harry waited until they were far enough away before he carefully moved Ceres off his lap.

He walked up to the girl and said "Hullo. I'm Harry."

"Hello Harry Potter. Interesting rock you were sitting on," said the girl.

"You can see it?"

"And the serpent that usually sleeps there. He seems quite interesting, but I can never understand his words."

"His name is Ceres. And I think he's a water moccasin," said Harry offhand. He liked talking to this girl. She seemed more sensible than the others.

"I'm Luna Lovegood by the way. Everyone calls me Loony."

"You don't seem Loony to me," said Harry honestly.

"You're the only person who doesn't think so."

"How would you like to accompany me to the dance? You're the most reasonable female I've meet this week," asked Harry.

She smiled at him, and accepted the offer. If he hadn't asked, she wouldn't have gone anyway.

It seemed one of the girls from before overheard this exchange, because she told the rest of the females in the castle that Harry was taken. For the rest of the week Harry spent his time as a referee between Luna and Hermione. He found it quite interesting.

Hermione may have been a brilliant witch, but she was too rigid. She was so focused on what was real and what wasn't that she simply couldn't get along with Luna very well. Even when Harry realized that the dreamy eyed girl was every bit as intelligent as Hermione, once you saw past her odd obsession with things that couldn't be seen.

Still, at least he could claim his date was never boring. She even took it in stride when he said he didn't like to dance much.

"I'm not fond of it either. I prefer to talk."

That cheered him up considerably.

* * *

As Harry waited patiently for Luna to show up, he spotted Hermione and his jaw dropped.

She had found a way to tame her bushy hair and had it tied into an elegant bun. Her dress accentuated her curves perfectly, and she no longer looked like a little librarian in the making. For the first time since he befriended her, Harry realized that yes, Hermione was in fact a girl.

Harry turned and saw Luna coming down the stairs. His jaw refused to return to it's original close position.

Luna looked stunning. Her long pale blond hair had been put into a very extravagant french braid tied off with what appeared to be an heirloom. She was wearing sensible slippers that wouldn't kill her feet if she wore them for a few hours. Her dress had no straps save the ones that tied off around her neck. It was a night sky blue with silver sparkles that resembled stars. On her neck was a rather pretty necklace that looked like an owl was stretching out it's wings. It appeared to be made of diamonds, because the owl was clearly a snowy. Her earrings looked like silver wolves howling at the moon.

"You look beautiful Luna," said Harry when he realized he was gaping at her.

(Nearby Fluer and Cho were giving Harry's date dirty looks for outshining them. It was clear Luna also had more of an effect than Fluer, because _her_ date was also staring.)

Harry nervously waited for their turn. As they walked behind Krum and Hermione, he noted the jealous looks people were shooting the two of them. Draco had been stuck going out with the rather drab (next to Luna) Pansy Parkinson. Ron couldn't find anyone in time, and he was sulking for it.

Harry silently thanks whatever gods were listening that they had been given lessons on how to dance properly. He had never danced to a waltz before.

Fortunately for him, Luna turned out to be the perfect dance partner. Hermione looked like she was trying to keep Krum from stepping on her toes, while Roger Davis kept looking at his date instead of where his feet were going. The only couple on the floor who danced as they should were Cedric and Cho. They appeared perfect for each other.

Finally the other couples came onto the floor, and Harry managed to dance them all the way to a waiting table. He sagged onto the bench with relief. Dumbledore had given a brief explanation on how to order, and the two set at it. Once they had eaten, they watched the dancers.

At least until Harry felt something slither around his leg. Only he noticed it. He discreetly looked down to find Ceres on his foot staring at him. He was glad he chose a table near the back, because everyone was too busy dancing to see the snake.

"_Hullo Ceres. Come to join in on the fun?"_

The snake chuckled.

"_I never miss a party if I can help it. Who's your date?"_

"_This is Luna."_

"Hello Ceres of the Night," said Luna.

Harry looked at her with surprise.

"How did you know his name is Ceres?"

"I asked him what his name was the first time I met him, and he spelled it out for me."

"Ah," said Harry. He knew when not to ask.

Harry asked Ceres what he felt like eating from the menu, and ordered it. Once they were all full, they snuck into the garden for fresh air. It was there that Harry learned Hagrid's secret.

He was a half giant. While Harry had heard many tales of giants eating people, he knew Hagrid was perfectly harmless. The suspicious looking beetle on the statue however, he wasn't so sure of. Especially when Ceres hissed at him.

"_That beetle has too much magic to be normal. It might be an animagi,"_ he hissed quietly.

Harry looked at it sourly.

_I wish I had a jar or something to put that beetle in. It looks like it would be trouble._

Harry didn't notice that his hand brushed against the pearl around his neck when he thought this.

Then he noted a small jar, perfect for the beetle. Before it could react, he scooped it up into the jar and firmly closed the lid. There were small holes for air, but not much else.

Upon closer inspection, Harry noted the odd marking around the eyes that looked all too familiar.

"Rita Skeeter. Off to print more malicious lies?" asked Harry calmly.

He heard more than saw Hagrid come up. Madam Maxime had already left a minute before.

"What are you doin' there 'arry?" asked Hagrid, hoping Harry hadn't overheard what he said to Madam Maxime.

"Sorry Hagrid. I overheard everything. I won't tell anyone if you won't," said Harry apologetically.

That soothed the half giant's nerves, as he looked at the jar in his hand.

"What's that?"

"If I'm right, someone who shouldn't even be on the grounds. I think I'll ask McGonagall later if people can turn into insects as well as animals."

The beetle made a strange keening sound, as if to cry in outrage.

"Keep it up, and I _will_ tell one of the nice Ministry employee's that happen to be around about your trick, Rita," said Harry with a false smile.

"I could have my father run a special on unregistered Animagi in the Quibbler. And run a list of known offenders..." said Luna pleasantly.

Harry beamed at her.

The night ended without any more excitement.

* * *

The first thing Harry did on Monday was ask McGonagall about insect animagi. Upon learning that yes, there were people who could, he thanked her and went straight to Hermione.

"You wouldn't _believe_ what I found out," he said with an evil grin. He had a plan that was practically Slytherin worthy.

"Oh?"

"I caught Rita Skeeter. She's an illegal beetle animagi."

Hermione's eyes glinted coldly. She hadn't liked the woman after the last article she did on the tournament. After that she burned every letter she got from people she didn't know.

The two plotted the spiteful woman's downfall.

The next time the _Daily Prophet_ came out, people were talking about Rita's sudden change of attitude about the champions. This time she even spelled the names correctly.

Hermione had forced the woman into an unbreakable vow not to tell malicious things unless they were truth backed by evidence. Rita had left in a very unhappy mood. (Hermione had threatened to snap her wand if she didn't do it.)

The only good news was that this time around they were going to be told what the task was beforehand.

* * *

It was a maze. Harry, Cedric and Krum were properly horrified over the state of the Quidditch pitch.

When Harry was heading back to the castle, by some chance or another he ended up walking with Krum. Seeing no point being rude, Harry properly introduced himself.

As they walked back to the castle, an unexpected problem arouse in the form of one Barty Crouch.

Harry had Krum return to the castle while he kept an eye on Crouch. The poor man appeared to be Confunded. Then someone hit him from behind, and he knew no more.

He awoke in the Hospital Wing with a very dead Barty Crouch.

"Where's the Knight Bus that hit me?" asked Harry with a groan.

"Someone stunned you from behind, and then killed Mr. Crouch," said Hermione. Luna and Neville were right behind her.

"Ow..."

"You Mr. Potter, are staying right here until morning. When you fell you hit your head pretty good."

Harry winced. He hated the hospital wing at the best of times.

"And I will hear _no_ arguments against that," said Madam Pomphrey firmly.

By morning he ran out of the hospital wing the minute she gave her approval. He did make sure the door didn't slam on the way out though.

The nurse huffed slightly, then went back to cataloging her potions stock. She didn't want to run low on something important.


	3. Chapter 3

Ceres was not happy to hear of the death. Particularly at the timing of it all.

"_Just my luck to lose the jewel the same year a dark wizard manages to hide in the school!"_

"_What does this jewel look like anyway?"_

"_It's about half the size of my head, and almost perfectly round except for the hole that goes straight through it. Unfortunately I can't tell you the color."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Most snakes are colorblind. We see things through the heat sensors in our tongues," _explained Ceres. (This is actually true.)

"_That sounds familiar. I think I've seen it somewhere, but I have no idea where."_

"_I'm starting to wonder if a human found it or not. It should have been around here somewhere. The lake would have washed it ashore roughly around this area thanks to the storm a few months back."_

Harry remembered how stormy it was start of the year. The wind blew past, and he shivered.

"_Wait a minute. Don't snakes hibernate in the winter?"_

Ceres laughed at him.

"_My kind aren't cold blooded like our serpent cousins."_

"_Your kind?"_

"_Dragons. Internal flames keep us warm all winter."_

"_HUH?"_

Harry was thoroughly confused at this point.

Ceres chuckled.

"_I suppose I could trust you with this secret..."_

Ceres slithered off his lap and into the lake, only this time he didn't vanish beneath the waves. The waves began to pound the serpent, until they stopped. Ceres began to grow rapidly, lengthening with each passing minute.

Suddenly four legs sprang from front and back. His mouth grew longer and his teeth sharpened into points. Tendrils came out of the sides of his mouth, and four horns came from his head. His coloring changed a bit too.

Instead of the normal coloring of a snake, he now sported a deep night black with silver talons.

"What type of dragon are you?" asked Harry in shock.

Ceres grinned. It was rather disconcerting to see, because he had a _lot_ of sharp teeth.

"**Humans in the East call my kind the Night Dragons. We rule the night skies, bringing rains on auspicious occasions."**

That snapped him out of it.

"Wait, so the reason why it's always raining or bad weather when a baby arrives..."

Ceres grinned wider.

"**Because of us. We keep track of children. I believe there is a special division solely for bringing the rains."**

Harry grinned. That sounded pretty funny.

"So what exactly does this jewel do?"

Ceres sighed.

"**It grants wishes. Almost every dragon has at least one. Mine went missing a while ago, and that's when you started coming around."**

"A wishing jewel?"

"**But mine had a catch to it. The more one uses it to wish for things, the more dragon like the person becomes. What kind of dragon depended on the type of wishes made."**

"So that's why you asked if someone gained fame or fortune! What would happen if a greedy human found it?"

"**Greed begets greed. If someone like that had found it, they would become a loathsome hell dragon, doomed to burn for eternity. If I don't find it by Christmas, I'll be in big trouble."**

"Why?"

"**Wishing jewels change human events too much. Last time one was lost, it caused a war that spanned continents. It was retrieved quickly, but the damage was done."**

Harry thought back to the last war, and realized that he meant World War two.

He brushed his hand against the odd luck charm he found. Then he remembered where he found it in the first place.

He took it out of his shirt.

"Um...is this the jewel you were looking for?"

Ceres' eyes widened. Around Harry's neck was the same jewel he lost!

"**Where did you find it?"**

"My hand bumped it the first time I came to this rock," said Harry, taking it off the string. He handed it to Ceres, who looked considerably relieved.

"**At least now I can sleep easier."**

Then he turned to Harry in concern.

"**Harry, what _exactly_ did you wish for in the past few months? The jewel shows signs of being used."**

Harry thought back.

"Well...during the first task I became invisible until I got past the horntail. I went back to normal when I got into the tent though. Then there was the jar that I trapped Rita in...and I think that's about it."

Ceres stared at him in surprise.

"**You...didn't wish for money, fame or anything selfish?"**

Harry gave him a look.

"My parents left me more money than I know what to do with, and I have been trying to find a way to get rid of the fame I have for being the boy-who-lived. Why would I need either of them? They bring more trouble than they're worth."

Ceres chuckled. In his experience, the boy was absolutely right.

"So what happens to me now if I've used the jewel?"

"**Your animagus form might have changed, but other than that there should be no side effects."**

"How do I learn how to become an animagi? McGonagall would turn me in to the Ministry in a heartbeat."

Ceres grinned.

"**You could always make one last wish on the jewel..."**

"Are you sure that's okay?"

"**Bah. It's not like it would affect anything anyway,"** said Ceres.

He handed the jewel to Harry, who held it in his hands as he made that one wish for himself.

* * *

The next morning Harry didn't feel any different. So he went to breakfast.

No one stared at him oddly, or questioned him. In fact, it was almost as if they didn't see him.

That suited him fine. He was tired of the staring, the whispers, the pointing. He liked the peace and quiet.

So when he passed a mirror and then had to do a double take to see who it was, he realized he was in trouble.

His eyes had changed shape. And his hair color had gone from raven black to star silver. It was quite possible he had been hit with a rather ingenious color changing charm.

So he confronted the twins, who took a good two seconds to recognize him.

"Woah, Harry mate, what happened to your hair?" asked Fred.

"I was hoping you'd tell me. You haven't slipped any color changing charms in my food again, have you?"

They shook their heads.

"I suppose someone else did it then. That's the only explanation for the change," said Harry with a sigh. He had hoped it had been the twins.

"Either way, the color suits you better than Gryffindor gold," George admitted. He viewed his surrogate brother with a critical eye.

(Surprisingly enough, George was the fashion conscious twin. Fred was the one who was color coordinated. The two made a formidable pair.)

Harry had never seen this side of the twins before. The two looked at him with critical eyes, silently taking notes. Harry tried not to gulp in fear. The last time they had that look in their eyes, the Slytherin dorm was dyed pink and purple for a week. Snape still shuddered when he thought about it.

It did not help when five minutes later George brought out some measuring tape, and Fred a sewing kit.

"What are you two up to?" asked Harry warily. He had never seen this side of the twins before.

Fred made a face.

"Don't tell anyone. Mum would have a fit, and Hermione would misinterpret everything," said George.

"And Ron?"

"Runs when he sees the tape come out. Last time we had to hit him with a stunner just to give Mum his measurements."

"What about all the pranks you do?"

"What better way to keep people from looking in our things than to prank regularly? Besides, this is our hobby."

"What do you two plan to do later?" asked Harry, trying to wrap his head around their other side.

"Prank shop, with a tailoring business on the side," shrugged George. He handed his twin a piece of paper, and Fred nodded back.

"And how do you two plan to fund this business?"

"There's a reason we've been laying bets."

Harry grinned as an idea came to him.

"And if you had a silent partner?"

It took a moment for them to cotton on.

"Then we could start sooner," said Fred.

"Tell you what. You two help me update my wardrobe and survive this mess, and I'll help fund you. It's the least I could do."

"You sure? It costs a lot to fund a joke shop, and we've looked."

Harry made a face.

"I can't think of anything better to do with the money my dad left me. Besides, I'm sure Sirius would get a kick out of the idea."

The twins grinned, and held out their hands.

"You've got a deal."

* * *

An unholy alliance was born. Over the course of the next week, Hedwig was very busy with deliveries. It wasn't until Christmas that anyone even noticed the change...and then everyone was in shock.

In exchange for keeping their other ability a secret, Harry had gotten a whole new look. And _everyone _wanted to know where he got it. Before he barely passed for presentable among the pure blood students. But now... He looked better than Malfoy and Blaise Zabini combined.

And he was determined to do damage control. It was time to get the Hufflepuff students back on his side.

He walked up to Professor Sprout and told her in a clear voice, "If Hogwarts wins, I want all the points I earned to go to the real Champion. I never wanted to be a part of this madness."

She turned to him and asked frostily "What changed?"

"Neville told me how unhappy he was now that his favorite teacher hated all Gryffindors. And what sort of friend would I be if I let something like a tournament ruin his time here."

That struck a cord with the Puffs. Harry clearly was willing to sacrifice any glory he would have gained to help his friend. And that showed a distinct loyalty to one's friends.

So yes, Professor Sprout accepted his idea. Even though Dumbledore clearly wasn't too happy about it. (The judges were more than happy to give the points to Cedric.)

Unfortunately it didn't mean that he could drop out. It just meant that even if Harry won the tournament, Hufflepuff would get all the glory.

And Harry honestly had no problem with that. It was Slytherin who became obnoxious when they won. And Hermione had checked the records. It had been nearly a hundred years since the Puffs won the House Cup. (Ravenclaw and Gryffindor had been winning for the past fifty years off and on until Snape was hired. Then it was Slytherin who dominated.)

* * *

Ceres continued hanging around the rock, even though he found his jewel, finally. He knew Harry needed someone to talk to that didn't care who he was.

Besides, this last task worried him, and he couldn't pin down why.

So Ceres offered to hide in his pocket during the last task. Harry had a better idea, which was more likely to work.

He had Ceres disguise himself as a belt. (The twins approved, saying it would suit his new style.)

Sirius didn't know how to react when his godson asked for help in becoming an animagus. While he was happy to show his godson _how_, the practice itself would take months. And knowing Dumbledore, he wouldn't miss the signs twice.

So over the course of Christmas break, Harry snuck past Hermione to see Sirius. Between the two of them, they managed to get the potion done.

Harry drank it with Sirius watching. And the first thing he saw was a large silver dragon the color of stars. The other creature he saw was a silver wolf.

He blinked, and they were gone.

"Hey Sirius...do people normally have _two_ animal forms?" asked Harry when it wore off.

"I had three. But I liked the dog best, so I went with that. What did you get?"

"Dragon and wolf. Both silver like the stars in the sky."

Sirius stared. Not many people had a magical beast as an animal form. Still, Harry had asked for his help, so who was he to argue?

The rest of that day was spent covering the bases on how to transform.

Sirius didn't react when Harry introduced his scaly friend, but he did ask that the snake not bite him.

* * *

Harry stood in front of the maze with Cedric. Since they were now officially sharing the points, they would go in together. The cannon thundered as it went off. Harry and Cedric split off at the first intersection.

Even though Harry was stuck wearing the Champion outfit chosen by the tournament judges, he was allowed to wear a belt. Only he wasn't wearing one at all.

Ceres found the belt loops quite comfortable, and quickly fell asleep.

It didn't take long for Harry to encounter a problem. Before him was a silver mist that went from edge to edge in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he walked in...and found himself upside down.

Seeing no reason to walk backwards, he took another step forward.

And fell to the ground with an 'oomph!'.

Ceres gave him a look, and Harry said "Sorry. Didn't expect that."

The next thing he ran into turned out to be one of Hagrid's new...pets. The blast ended skrewt fired from the back end, and Harry narrowly missed getting hit by it. He dashed forward, and dodged the creature.

And was promptly confronted with a dementor.

"_Expecto Patronum!"_

The dementor staggered, and a light clicked in his mind. This wasn't a dementor at all.

"HAH!"

The boggart burst into mist, and he went forward.

At the next intersection, Harry finally ran into one of the champions.

"I wouldn't recommend going that way. I just ran into a skrewt," said Cedric with a wince.

"Back there is a skrewt, boggart and a mist that flips you upside down," said Harry.

Cedric winced.

"So...take a right?" said Cedric.

Harry snickered and nodded.

That was when they heard Fluer scream.

Cedric and Harry both ran to the scream, and found Krum standing over a fainted Fluer.

Krum turned to face them. His eyes were glazed over. Harry didn't hesitate.

"_Stupefy!"_

Krum fell like a sack of bricks. Harry sent the sparks up, and the two remaining ran.

As Cedric moved to go another direction, Harry stopped him.

"What's the point in splitting up? At this point it's a Hogwarts win, either way."

"You have a point. And you did publicly say any points you earned would go to the Puffs anyway... Ah, why not."

Between the two of them, it took less time to make it to the center. But something was wrong, and Harry could feel it.

"How weird. I kept running into obstacles before," said Cedric.

"It's a trap."

"Huh?"

"You said it yourself that you've encountered at _least_ fifteen obstacles, whereas I only ran into three. Doesn't that sound odd to you?"

"Not really. You're known for having the best luck around the end of the year."

"The best luck at escaping bad situations. And this is quickly turning into one."

"Explain."

"First year, end of term month, I went through a series of traps to save a stone that the possessed professor wouldn't have gotten anyway. Second year, end of term, I killed a basilisk because everyone believed I was the Heir of Slytherin until Hermione was petrified. Third year, I had to face a hundred dementors to save an innocent man and avoid being eaten by a friendly werewolf."

Cedric thought that over, and winced. Harry made a convincing argument.

"And add to the fact that there was no _overt_ threat so far this year, aside from the ones that everyone else chosen had to face, and I _know _that something is about to happen when we reach the goblet."

"Point taken. What should we do?"

Harry sat on the path and brought up three easy strategies he had worked out.

"Possibility number one: the goblet is a port key that takes us to Voldemort or some random bad guy. Best case scenario: we both make it out alive. Highly unlikely with Voldemort, since he would definitely kill a spare just so they won't come back to get him from behind."

Cedric nodded.

"Possibility number two: the goblet curses anyone who touches it. Best case scenario: the curse is easily reversible. Also highly unlikely."

Cedric accepted his logic, and made a motion for him to continue.

"And possibility number three, which is what I hope happens. Nothing happens, and I end up being a bugger who's more paranoid than Moody."

Cedric laughed, and hoped that he was right.

"So on the off chance that the first one is right, what do you plan to do?"

"You will grab the goblet and head straight back. I'll find my own way back to the castle. The last thing I need is _your_ death on my conscience."

As they made it to the center, they both grabbed the cup. And were promptly flung through the air and taken to somewhere else.

Cedric looked at Harry with respect.

"I bow to your wisdom," he said with a grin.

"And?"

"I will meet you back at the school," said Cedric as he picked up the cup.

The port key reactivated and Cedric was dumped unceremoniously onto the lawn. The cry of the stadium was deafening.

* * *

_**Back in the graveyard...**_

Harry knew he was in trouble when he heard Pettigrew cast a spell. He passed out, and woke up tied to a statue of an angel.


	4. Chapter 4

Much to his horror, Harry found himself an ingredient in a fell potion. His silver hair (it refused to change back to black for some reason) waved in the nonexistent wind. The mists enveloped the statue he was on.

When Peter approached him, he decided to do something about it.

"_Ceres, would you WAKE UP!"_

The dragon blinked, and saw the rat.

"_Can I eat him? He smells like prey."_

Harry seriously considered that, then said _"Eat him after we prove he's still alive. I need his sorry carcass to redeem my godfather."_

"_Pity. And the wriggling thing in the blanket that smells of death?"_

"_KILL IT!"_

Ceres hissed amused, and slithered out of the loops. It had finally gotten interesting.

Before Peter could stab the knife into Harry's arm, Ceres struck. Peter screamed like a girl (no surprise there) and narrowly avoided the fangs.

Still, he somehow managed to pierce Harry's skin, and dropped the blood into the bubbling cauldron. The explosion would have knocked Harry down if he hadn't been pinned to the statue.

Voldemort had been reborn.

* * *

Ceres looked up from where he struck the rat. So the dark child of Slytherin was back? He promptly returned to Harry, who was still pinned to the statue.

He went close to the boy's ear and hissed to him.

**Seems your in a jam, little one.**

"_How am I supposed to make it out of this mess? Cedric took the portkey back!"_

**Who said someone like you needed one of those things? You never did unlock your new animagi form properly.**

"_Then could you tell me how?"_

Ceres laughed at him. Voldemort approached Pettigrew, intent on recalling his subordinates.

**Open your mind. The way has already been shown to you, you just haven't paid attention.**

Harry closed his eyes, and let go of his fear.

The silver dragon he had seen thanks to the potion appeared again. This time, instead of staring back at him, it roared and flew into him. Harry could feel something snap inside him, and the change began.

* * *

Voldemort realized something was wrong when he didn't hear the brat breathing anymore. In fact, all he could hear was that dragon the boy had managed to bring with him.

Pettigrew was soiling himself because that boy had set the dragon on him.

So when he turned around, the last thing he expected to see was the statue turned into rubble, and a massive star silver dragon glaring at him. The other dragon had vanished!

(Actually Ceres blended in perfectly with the night sky, so Voldemort didn't see him.)

The new dragon roared at him, and was about to strike when the Death Eaters began to arrive.

They formed a circle around the three, enclosing them perfectly. Though it was very clear to the Dark Lord some of them were more than ready to bolt the moment they realized that there was a pissed off dragon very close to them.

The dragon lunged at him, and he narrowly avoided having his hand bitten off. As it was, he had severe lacerations on his hand and arm.

The dragon clearly had it in for Voldemort, as it repeatedly struck at him. It didn't take long for the Dark Lord to become bloodied.

Finally he had enough and shot his favorite curse at it. It glanced off the dragon's side and hit one of the other Death Eaters. From the cry he judged the victim to be MacNair.

The dragon lunged again, only this time Voldemort caught the sight of a certain scar on it's head. A lightning shaped scar. He put two and two together and realized that the dragon was Potter!

He snarled and aimed another curse at the dragon. This time he aimed for the inside of his mouth.

The dragon roared in rage. The inside of it's mouth was cut up badly, but the wounds were healing too quickly for the injury to be of any use. That was when the lightning struck. If Voldemort had any hair left, it would be standing on end.

As it was, the black dragon stopped the silver one from doing any more damage. They vanished in a swirl of silver and black. Upon further investigation, they realized that the pathetic rat had been taken as well.

* * *

The crowd was in shock when a large black mass swirled in a circle above the judges. From within, two bodies fell from above. One was the missing champion, Harry Potter. The other however...

"_Is that Peter Pettigrew?"_ seemed to be the general cry of shock.

Pettigrew landed ungracefully on the ground, his arm broken, but otherwise uninjured. There was just one problem though.

His Dark Mark was showing for all the world to see. Reporters shot pictures before anyone could react. They then apparated very quickly back to their offices to announce the truth of Pettigrew.

* * *

Harry woke up, dazed and confused. It took him a moment to realize where he was. He was in the Hospital Wing. He was safe.

Of course that was quickly revised when he saw who was with him. Dumbledore and Fudge.

He pretended to still be asleep. And what he heard infuriated him.

"_He's gone dark. There's no hope for him now."_

"_I agree. He'll be stripped of his magic and sent back to his muggle family. His owl will be confiscated by tomorrow."_

"_What of Pettigrew?"_

"_He'll be shipped to Azkaban. If Sirius Black thinks this will clear his name, he has another thing coming!" said Fudge._

Harry felt his fury rise.

_If only there was a way out of this mess!_ He thought.

Thunder crashed outside the window, and the two jumped. Harry stayed still. Somehow, he knew something was coming for him. The next crash came a moment later, and again, and again until no one could hear anything! Harry took that as his queue to make a break for it.

He had found something interesting about the wishes he made on that jewel. Since he didn't wish for the ability to disappear to go away, he still had it.

Using his invisibility, he darted past the two wizards and bolted towards the common room. Fred and George were arguing with a prefect nearby.

Harry stopped. He could use the twins help now.

"Fred! George!" he hissed.

They heard him, but the prefect didn't. So Harry distracted her with a well placed stunner. She was out like a light.

"Blimey Harry, why did you do that?"

"Dumbledore intends to seal my magic. I need you to get my things while I get Hedwig. It's not safe for me anymore."

They saw the seriousness in his eyes, and promptly went into the common room. Before anyone could question what was going on, the two were gone.

"Let us know when you're safe," said George.

"Yeah, we don't want to lose you," said Fred.

Harry nodded, and vanished under the Whomping Willow. It was still until the twins were well away. Hedwig was on Harry's shoulder the entire time.

Sirius looked up when he heard the hoot. Harry was drenched from the bizarre downpour. The thunder had yet to let up.

"Harry! What are you doing here?"

"Sirius, we have to go, now!" Harry shouted.

"What? Where to?"

They didn't notice or care that the thunder only let up long enough for them to hear what the other was saying.

"I don't know! Anywhere far from here!" said Harry.

The thunder stopped, and the roaring started. Harry looked behind him, and saw Ceres standing there.

"**We need to move quickly. I can only hold this thunder storm overhead for so long."**

"Where can we go?"

"**To the East, where else? You need to start your training soon."**

That threw them for a loop.

"What training?" demanded Sirius. He was damned if he was going to back down from a dragon.

"**Hatchling needs training so he can help clear out Europe. The dragons who oversee this area are in a foul mood thanks to Dumbledore, and the Dark child of Slytherin returning didn't help. Grab what you need and we'll leave."**

"Wait. There's something we need to take care of before we leave Europe," said Harry.

"**Fine. Just be quick about whatever it is."**

(One quick detour to Gringotts later...)

Harry walked out of the bank with a new card, and a new vault for the twins. He had the goblins owls the twins about the vault. Sirius sealed his vaults just in case.

Harry wondered why Ceres insisted on flying instead of the swirling thing he did earlier.

He even asked about that.

"**The ones I'm taking you to see would take offense to that kind of travel. Most of the younger dragons love to use that method, so the Elders called it undignified."**

Harry snickered.

* * *

When they touched ground, Sirius promptly began to kiss it. It had taken seventeen hours of flying to reach the East. Harry on the other hand just stretched. He had taken a nap.

Ceres began walking and turned to face them.

"**Follow me. When we reach the shrine Sirius, you will have to stay back with the owl. Only dragons are allowed past the Torii gates."**

An hour of walking later, they reached a large red gate. It was clearly Oriental in origin.

Ceres nudged Harry ahead. Sirius knew better than to try and follow them.

They were halfway up the stairs when Ceres told him...

"**Best shift to dragon if you want to make a good impression. As it is, they aren't too happy with me for losing the jewel in the first place."**

Harry turned into his dragon form (which he still didn't have a name for) and walked alongside Ceres. The more they walked the more he lagged, until he was directly behind Ceres.

They reached the top an hour later. Harry was impressed.

"**Is this the boy?"** asked a booming voice.

Harry swiveled trying to find the voice.

"**Up here."**

Harry looked up and saw at least ten large dragons on perches. They reminded him of large owls, only with sharp teeth and even sharper talons.

The dragons chuckled.

"**We'll take that as a compliment. Now, since you have gained the form of a dragon you must pass a few tests."**

"Not life threatening I hope," said Harry nervously.

"**Not exactly," **said the dragon above him. He took something from behind his wing and dropped it down.

Harry held out his claw. A black pearl the color of the night sky dropped into it.

"What's this about?"

"**Your test is simple enough. You have to turn this jewel into a proper wishing jewel. But be warned, if you make a wish on this, you might not get what you expect."**

'Why do I have a bad feeling about this?' thought Harry as he held the jewel.

"**You evaluator will be Ceres, since it's his fault you became a dragon. Depending on how _you_ do, Ceres may lose his form."**

Harry looked at the innocent looking pearl. When he thought about all the troubles he had gone through, he realized that appearances were very deceiving.

"What's the catch?"

"**It will grant wishes, just not in the way you thought. The more wishes you make, the more the pearl changes."**

Harry and Ceres left the temple in silence. Sirius and Hedwig were...playing poker?

Harry turned back and asked "What the hell?"

"Oh, you're back. Tell this owl to quit cheating!"

Harry stared, and began to laugh hysterically. This was the funniest thing he had seen in days. His beloved owl was beating his own godfather at poker. So yes, he laughed. Sirius looked both affronted and betrayed.

"Next time we play strip poker," said Harry with a straight face. Sirius looked horrified...before he burst out laughing.

It was something James would have done if he knew Sirius had been beaten by an _owl_ of all things.

* * *

Harry sensed more than saw the stalkers. He ducked into the side alley, and then looked around.

Five people who were definitely European wizards were trying to find something.

He couldn't see any alternative. His cloak was in his trunk back at the apartment, and his wand was next to it! He was scheduled to start his muggle schooling tomorrow.

Seeing no other options left, and finding out his invisibility power had been taken away once he got his own jewel, Harry took out his black pearl and wished to become invisible to the searching wizards.

The pearl grew warm in his hands, and he felt something change. He walked out into the view of the people on the sidewalk, and went right past the wizards without anyone raising the alarm.

He let go a sigh of relief, and walked as fast as he could back to his apartment.

He didn't bother to see whether the power had worn off until he heard Hedwig give a confused hoot, and Sirius gave him the weirdest look.

"Who are you and who gave you the key to this house?" asked Sirius.

That threw him for a loop. He looked down and yelped.

"What the bloody hell?"

Harry was now a _Harriet._

Sirius recognized that voice and said in shock, "Pup?"

"Dammit all to hell! I asked for invisibility, not to lose my bits!" growled Harriet.

Sirius looked in shock. That was definitely Harry.

"What happened?"

"Five wizards are here looking for me. I wished to become invisible to them, and I thought the pearl granted that. Instead it apparently turned me into a _girl_."

Sirius stared for five more seconds before he fell to the floor laughing his ass off. His godson had become his _goddaughter!_

So in retaliation Harriet hexed him. Which set off a wrestling match in the living room that didn't end for two hours.

* * *

Since Harriet didn't trust her jewel to return her to normal without a catch, she reluctantly decided to go as she was to school. Which meant she had to do some fast lying to fix the records.

Since she was stuck in Japan for the time being, she decided to register in the nearest high school.

Meioh Private Academy.

Taking a deep breath, she went into the school and made a few minor corrections to her records. Her invisibility cloak helped her into the records room, and a simple wish on the jewel took care of the electronic ones.

She didn't notice that someone had noticed her, even if they couldn't actually see her.

"Everyone, meet our new student all the way from Europe. Haruka Black!"

Haruka, as she decided to change her name (and yes, she had seen too many _Sailor Moon_ episodes) walked out into the classroom. Her silver and black hair coloring set off the girls. And her bright emerald green eyes that hid behind round specs only marked her as brilliant. Several of the boys wondered what she would look like without them on.

"Ms. Black has a bit of catching up to do, so I want you to treat her warmly. Ms. Black, please take your seat next to Mr. Minamino."

"Um..." started Haruka.

A red head in the back raised his hand. She walked towards him and tried not to stare.

Why did she always end up with a red head when she started a new school?

"Hello Black-san."

"Konnichiwa, Minamino-san," said Haruka with a hint of uncertainty. She was still learning Japanese.

They sat in silence until lunch, when Shuichi was drafted to give her a tour. She ignored the jealous looks sent her way for being in the presence of the red head.

Once the tour was over, she began to notice something that bothered her.

She was completely comfortable in Shuichi's presence, whichw as highly unusual. Most people made her uncomfortable for a few days until she got used to them. Even Ron made her uncomfortable, but she was so lonely she put up with it.

But this guy didn't bother her. The only person she ever felt comfortable with immediately was Remus.

Which meant a few possibilities. One, Shuichi was a werewolf. Two, he had a recent creature inheritance. Or three, Shuichi Minamino wasn't human.

Once they reached the roof, Haruka turned to Shuichi and asked him calmly "Shuichi, are you a human?"

Shuichi eyes turned gold.

"What do you mean?"

"There are very few people I feel comfortable around without getting used to. And of those people, none of them were what you could call normal?"

"Such as?"

"My uncle. He was bit by a werewolf and I feel safe around him. What are you?"

"You can call me Kurama, but only if no one from this school hears you. I prefer to stay in this form for a little while longer."

"As long as you don't target me or try to kill me in any way, I could care less."

Kurama nodded, and they went back to class.


	5. Chapter 5

Kurama was curious about the new transfer. She had immediately known he wasn't human and didn't care. That alone made him curious. But there was also the odd feeling that came off her in waves. He had felt it recently.

When he reflected on it, he realized what it was.

Magic.

What puzzled him was the fact that the scent didn't bother him. Most magic users reeked of potion fumes, ink and whatever element they used most.

But Haruka (and he seriously doubted that was her real name), she smelled of owl feathers, snow, fire and wind. She either didn't like potions or she didn't spend much time tending a cauldron. Her hair was silver, like the stars in the sky and black as a raven's feather. Her eyes were reminiscent of his own. But unlike him, they were hollow.

As if she had been forced to face the cold world before her time, and was still dealing with that fact. He had seen that look before, but not in a human.

The last time he saw a look like that, it was in the eyes of a demon known as Hiei Jaganshi. Somehow, he knew Haruka would love to meet that little pyromaniac.

* * *

Haruka opened the door, and skillfully dodged the dog attack. Sirius thought it great fun to tackle his goddaughter once she came home. While it was amusing the first time, it quickly grew tiresome.

Still, it did comfort her to know Sirius was still there with her. Even if they now had to share separate rooms to avoid gossip. Hedwig didn't seem to mind the charm that changed her from a snow white owl to a tawny colored one.

For the next two weeks, Haruka got to know the mysterious Kurama. The boy, while hesitant to tell her anything, eventually caved. She should have known her luck would lead her straight to a fox demon. Even if he was polite about being one.

On her third week as a female, she got her first letter from the twins.

They thought that little prank she left them in their new vault was hilarious, and thanked her for the money they needed to start their joke/tailoring shop. Of course people mostly went to buy pranks and tricks from them.

Since she was now stuck as a girl for the time being, she asked for their help. And sent an updated list of her measurements for them to work with.

A month later they sent back enough clothes to keep her going until New Years without washing anything. All of it was extremely stylish and could be used in both the magical and mundane communities.

Once Sirius learned of the twin's...other...talents, he enlisted their help as well. A week later he got an entirely new wardrobe.

* * *

Hiei watched the girl from afar. When Kurama had mentioned her to him offhand, he had become curious. Magic users weren't that rare, but they were annoying. Especially if they thought a part of you could become useful in potions. Those people were insane!

Haruka however, did not look insane. And aside from the tame owl, nothing pointed to her being a magic user. That is, until she stared right at him and glared.

"If you're going to follow me, then at least do it on ground level. I could care less if you stalk me or not."

That threw him for a loop. Still, he saw no reason not to humor her. Upon further inspection, he caught the scent Kurama had. Definitely a magic user.

"You aren't going to attack me for some rare potion ingredient are you?" he asked suspiciously.

She made a face.

"Hardly. But if you're going to stalk me, at least do it where I can see you. I wouldn't mind having someone to talk to from time to time."

"Why should I trust you?"

"If you were going to attack me, then you would have done so the moment I identified you were there. And if you had ill intent, then you would have struck before I could find you. Besides, I prefer talking to demons than humans," said Haruka calmly.

Hiei conceded her point. If he had been planning to attack instead of observe, he would have done so a while back. So he humored her and answered the few questions she had about himself. He didn't know why he talked to her, but something about the girl caused him to let down his guard.

Perhaps it was her eyes. They were so similar to his own. Or maybe it was the fact that she didn't judge him for being a 'forbidden child'. Either way, he decided he liked talking to her.

* * *

Dumbledore was furious. Somehow his pawn had learned of his plans to strip him of everything and escaped long before the year had ended. Cedric had been declared the winner of the tournament, despite the fact that he had taken the goblet with Harry. That didn't mean he kept all the glory, because he announced to the school that the win was a joint venture with Gryffindor...which meant for the first time in the history of the school, the cup had to be awarded to two houses.

Not that it mattered.

Everyone was abuzz over the scandal that had occurred when Pettigrew appeared, bearing the Dark Mark on his left arm. He even swore under veritaserum that he had been the one to betray the Potters, and not Black.

The Pure bloods were threatening to riot over the fact that despite this new evidence, Fudge continued to claim that Sirius Black was a convict. The utter betrayal of the justice system infuriated the pure bloods.

Fudge had last been seen hiding under his desk from all the howlers demanding that he retract the sentence given to the man. There was little hope that he would be re-elected.

Now if only he could find how Harry escaped...

* * *

Haruka walked by herself today. Hiei and Kurama had something to do, and she decided to spend the day walking around Tokyo. As she walked, she heard a commotion near the arcade.

She approached, not noticing most of the other passerby looking at her strangely.

In the middle of the ring were five boys attacking a lone one in green. The one in green had slicked back hair and a cocky attitude.

Suddenly a sixth boy prepared to attack the green one from behind. Haruka hated cheaters. The boy passed her, and she tripped him.

"Fight fair creep!" she growled.

The green one looked back, and saw what she did. He grinned.

Once the kid beat the others to a pulp, he approached her.

"Thanks. I hate it when people try a sneak attack. I'm Urameshi Yusuke."

"Black Haruka. I hate sneak attacks too."

"So why'd you interfere?"

"I was curious as to what was going on, and decided to investigate. My friends once called it my 'saving people thing'," she said nervously.

Yusuke surprised her by throwing his arm around her shoulder and saying "You're alright!"

Something about Yusuke reminded her of the twins, so she relaxed.

That was when it all went downhill.

A red head approached and shot his mouth off.

"What's this Urameshi? You dump Keiko?"

That made her blush. Yusuke looked like he was about to pummel the kid into the street, so she intervened.

"Hardly. I just saved him from a nasty sneak attack. You had best shut yer trap before you make yourself look like a bigger moron," she sneered. (She was proud to say she borrowed Draco's sneer.)

Vaguely she heard Yusuke laughing behind her, as the red head sputtered.

"You're lucky I don't hit girls!" was all the red head would say.

That annoyed her enough that she drew back her right arm and punched him in the face. The red head fell to the ground and was now sporting a rather spectacular black eye.

"Don't look down on me because I'm a girl, jerk!" she snarled.

That broke the dam on whatever it was keeping Yusuke from cracking up. He was laughing his ass off now.

"Kuwabara!" yelped the other boys.

"Damn. I was hoping to break his nose," was all she would say to the matter.

As she turned to leave, Yusuke finally had sense of mind to ask her which school she went to.

"Meioh Private Acadamy!" she said as she left.

"Sarayashiki Junior High!" said Yusuke, as he turned to leave.

She grinned and did a backwards wave. Somehow she knew she would see him again.

She sensed more than saw Hiei appear.

"Get into a fight princess?" he smirked. She did something he didn't expect.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"They started it. I finished it. I was actually aiming for his nose and went too high."

"Hn. You have a good right hook."

"And that is the first time I have ever punched someone. I rely too much on my magic," said Haruka.

Kurama appeared from around the tree. She wasn't fazed.

"Perhaps you would like us to teach you how to fight in other ways?" he suggested.

Her grin was all they needed to know.

* * *

A month after meeting the infamous Yusuke Urameshi, Haruka found herself exhausted. Kurama and Hiei fulfilled their end of the bargain by showing her how to fight using her fists and a sword. In exchange she stocked up on healing potions. It was a fair trade.

Now she could at least hold her own until the two reached her. Since tomorrow was her day off, she decided to go to the arcade. She deserved a break.

She entered the pachinko parlor and found a seat. It wasn't long before she had a large crowd surrounding her. And the reason was simple.

It seemed karma had decided to come back and haunt her, because every time she pulled the lever, she won. Sometimes it was big, sometimes it was little, but she never lost. She had amassed three buckets of winnings.

And it was making management suspicious. Finally she ended her game, and went to cash in her tokens. She didn't like how the guards were looking at her.

That was when she spotted Yusuke.

"Hello Urameshi-kun. What brings you here?"

"Skipping class. You?"

"Day off. I called ahead and claimed I had a nasty head cold. My grades are good enough that they didn't dispute it," she shrugged.

Yusuke spotted her winnings.

"Holy crap! Which machine did you rip off?"

She nodded to the crowd, and he gaped.

"Want half? It's not like I need any of it," she held up a bucket.

Yusuke took two thirds of her winnings, and got a lot of random things she didn't recognize. As for her, she had her eye on a fan that she liked, and just took that. It was a silver dragon fan, and it had sharp edges.

"Cool fan."

"Yeah. I just hope I can use it for more than decoration," said Haruka.

"So what now?"

"A few friends of mine showed me how to fight. Care to spar for a bit?"

His grin nearly split his face. He was always up for a fight.

She left him on the ground, panting.

"Who the hell taught you to fight?"

"Iron fist Kurama and Pyromaniac Hiei. Usually I have difficulty keeping up with them."

Yusuke groaned in pain. For a month of nonstop training, Haruka was a good fighter. She had her own style, which made her very dangerous. It seemed like she had a sixth sense for punches, and saw the tiniest detail. And she was very flexible, almost like a gymnast.

"Are you sure you're not into gymnastics?" he asked.

Haruka became cross.

"Why does everyone I spar with always ask that? I have never taken a lesson in my life!" she growled.

"Just asking!" he said, his hands up in surrender.

"Well since you seemed to have recovered, want to go again?"

"Can't. Have to get groceries," said Yusuke quickly.

"Need any help carrying them?"

"Probably. Fighting you wore me out!"

That was how she met Atsuko Urameshi. She reminded her of Sirius, only drunker.

"Need a good drinking buddy?" she asked with a grin.

"Know anyone who can hold their liquor?"

"My uncle, Sirius. I've seen him drink a whole bottle of Russian vodka and still manage to walk back."

Atsuko told the girl where he could find her, and she left.

* * *

Kurama and Hiei found her five minutes away from Yusuke's house.

"Have fun today?"

"Have fun stalking me?" she countered. She knew they had been watching her the whole time.

"How did you win so much without using your magic?" asked Kurama, curious.

"Fate seems to hate me, so I think my karma is trying to make up for it by giving me very good luck at gambling," said Haruka with a shrug.

Kurama was missing from school. So Haruka went to his apartment. He had shown her where he lived when she asked for homework help. He had quickly gotten her up to speed. (In exchange she introduced the two demons to her owl. Hedwig now knew better than to attack the two.)

She found him extremely worried.

"What's wrong?"

"My mother fell sick. She's in the hospital."

"She alright?" asked Haruka, concerned.

"According to the doctors, something in the ventilation where she worked made her sick."

"Yikes. Was she working in a old building?"

"Apparently. The doctors can't find anything to get rid of the poison, and none of my plant stock has any effect."

Haruka considered the problem before she said "Have you considered a ground up bezoar? In the magical community it's known for curing poisons. I think it would only be a temporary solution though."

"Why is that?" asked Kurama. Once he considered her suggestion, it made sense.

"Your mum is non magical right? A bezoar won't do her much good once it's innate magic is used up. And her body might build up a resistance to the magic."

Kurama knew he didn't have many options at this point. None of his plants or potions would work. And the doctors said they couldn't afford the only medicine they had for the poison, which was only a very temporary solution. He cursed his bad luck.

"Where can I find a bezoar? There aren't any goats anywhere close to here!" said Kurama.

Haruka sported a triumphant look. She wagged her finger with a grin.

"Oh-ho! But you are forgetting _one_ important detail Kurama-kun!"

"What?" asked Kurama in irritation. She was acting out of character today.

"You happen to be best friends with a witch. I can get a bezoar with ease!"

Haruka left Kurama at his apartment and returned twenty minutes later with two bezoars. She handed him one and said "That was my first time in that magical alley."

"Hey Haruka," said Kurama, as she went to head home.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

"You can always rely on me Kurama-kun. All you have to do is ask."

Kurama went to work when he knew she was gone. The bezoar she had given him was genuine.

* * *

Since Kurama would be busy making something to help his mother, Haruka looked for Yusuke. Sirius and Atsuko had become good friends over their drinking, and usually ended the night with Sirius staying the night passed out drunk at Yusuke's house.

Yusuke didn't mind the old hound, since he usually helped the boy clean the house. Haruka really hoped that Sirius and Atsuko became more than drinking buddies. Her godfather was actually having a good influence on the delinquent.

Yusuke spent more time at school, to the shock of his teachers. Of course he only went to prank or skip class on the roof. Still, at least he went to school.

Haruka ran into Yusuke at the arcade.

She snuck up behind him and poked him in the head. He swung around, ready to beat up the idiot when he saw who it was.

"What was that for?"

"My friends are busy. Care to spar?"

"Nah. My mom's on a binge again and her drinking buddy is encouraging her."

Haruka rolled her eyes.

"Next time Sirius does that, tell him his niece will turn his hair neon pink for a month."

Yusuke grinned wildly.

"How will you managed that? I know a few people who could use the same treatment."

Haruka raised an eyebrow.

"Do tell. Maybe I could...assist you."

Yusuke cackled evilly as they left the arcade. He describe the general treatment he usually got from his teachers, and Haruka was more than happy to help him prank the creeps.

Her smirk gave Yusuke chills.

"Time to call the twins. They would be delighted to help in this job," she grinned, rubbing her hands together.

* * *

Kurama walked to the school where Haruka apparently vanished with a street punk. Hiei had told him about this Urameshi Yusuke. A total delinquent with little regard for authority, he was a dangerous ally. On the other hand, her uncle seemed to have developed an interesting relationship with the boy's mother over alcohol.

So naturally he was concerned. He had never seen this side of Haruka before.

He felt someone touch his arm, and saw nothing. So he used his plants to look for the culprit. They discovered strange cloth. He nearly fell back when Haruka popped out of thin air in front of his face.

"Boo!"

"Ack! Haruka, how...?"

"This is one of my dad's cloaks. It turns anyone under it invisible. Care to help us?"

"Help you with_ what_ exactly?" asked Kurama, suspicious.

Her smirk sent chills down his spine.

"Pranks."

Kurama hid under the cloak with Haruka, while Yusuke attempted to break into the school. The lock was fairly new, apparently someone destroyed the old one.

Kurama took out some lock picks and under the cloak, picked the lock with ease. The three quickly went to work, each one on a different floor. Kurama took the front entrance, Haruka took the teacher's lounge, and Yusuke worked on the rooms that the teacher's frequented on school hours.

They left as quickly as they came.

* * *

The next morning, Kurama hid under the cloak to watch the chaos begin. Yusuke had arrived very early to watch the pranks go off on the roof. He had brought popcorn which he shared with Haruka.

It was a nightmare. Fireworks, streamers and a never ending stream of smells and bombs went off.

They had to cancel the school just to clean up the mess. Of course that was nothing to what happened to Iwamoto and Akashi, who were hit the worst. Both of them now had bows and ribbons in their hair, which was now dyed a bright neon pink and orange. The also had signs on their backs that read _'kick me in the ass!'._

Yusuke and Haruka couldn't stop laughing.

"Oh yeah! How do you plan on getting out of here without being seen?" asked Yusuke, when he remembered she didn't go to his school.

"Same way I got on the roof. I'm flying off."

"Huh?"

Haruka produced her Firebolt, and sat on it sidesaddle. The look on his face was so hilarious she snapped a quick picture using her new camera.

"Didn't tell you? I'm a witch!" she grinned.

Yusuke's mouth was still gaping. He couldn't react fast enough when she swooped down and grabbed his hand.

"WOAH!"

Yusuke managed to hold onto the broom until she touched down.

"What the hell! Warn me next time!" whined Yusuke.

"Where's the fun in that?" she asked cheekily.

Once he calmed down, he agreed. It was an amusing joke.

"Too bad you don't have any magic. Otherwise we could fly together sometime."

Kurama tapped her lightly on the shoulder. She looked and grinned.

"Fine, fine. We did enough damage today Shuichi-kun. See you tomorrow Yusuke-kun!"


	6. Chapter 6

Kurama and Haruka made it back to his apartment in a short amount of time. They had taken her broom there.

"Didn't you once say that there's a Statute of Secrecy about magic?" he asked once they landed.

"Bah. They can kiss my ass if they think I'm going to hide my powers. I tired of adults who think that the world is still the same as it was before. The witch hunts are ancient history."

"Witch Hunts?"

She looked at him.

"I'm sure you remember your history lessons. Humanity went on a series of hunts for those with unique powers, claiming god told them to do it. They persecuted innocent people in the name of 'purity'. What they didn't know was that those with magic had hidden away."

Kurama was silent as she explained.

"Europe was the worst hit, and paranoia caused all those who could use true magic to hide away at a special school. Children would be trained to use their powers and were told never to reveal what they were. That was how the statute of secrecy was started."

She looked away to the sky.

"But things have changed, and they don't see it. Humans no longer fear the darkness. They have learned to accept those with powers, even embrace the natural order. The only problem is that those who live in Europe still fear the darkness. They refused to see that humanity has moved on."

"Haruka...what happened to you?" asked Kurama.

"Someone who decided to follow the dark side of magic came after me. He killed my parents and attempted to kill me. He sent the entire European community back into the dark ages. Now they expect me to save them all."

Kurama was silent.

"They didn't consider that maybe I wanted to be normal. So their precious leader of the Light sent me to my aunt's home."

Kurama sensed he was close to why Haruka only trusted those who weren't human. He had wondered who had caused her to lose faith in the mortals.

"My aunt and uncle despised magic. She hated her sister for having it when she didn't, and took it out on me for ten years. I lived worse than a slave until I was eleven, when the magic users decided they wanted their savior back. Then their leader decided to test my loyalty for each year I was in that school."

Her face was distant and cold. Kurama was reminded of Hiei when he first met him. The fire demon had been lonely too.

"They expected me to save them when they threw me back to my relatives who despised me. I'm not going back for a long, long time."

Kurama lightly touched her shoulder, and she nearly jumped. She decided to head home the old fashioned way, and Kurama let her go.

At least now he knew why he had trusted her with his secret. She was like them. Abandoned and unwanted. She only trusted those who had proven themselves in her eyes. She had been alone for so long that she could barely stand crowds.

* * *

Hiei appeared at his shoulder.

"You really want to save your human mother?" he asked.

"What do you want Hiei?"

"What was up with Haru earlier?"

"I'll tell you later. What do you want?"

"There is an item that might save her life. I'm sure you've heard of the Mirror of Darkness."

"In exchange for you life it grants a wish. You aren't seriously suggesting...?"

"We'll need a third. Think she would be up to it?"

"I'll ask tomorrow. She should have some space today," said Kurama, watching Haruka walk home.

"Hn."

* * *

"So let me get this straight. You want me to help you two plan a heist in the afterlife? For a mirror?" she gave Kurama an incredulous look.

"It's to save my mother. Are you up for it?"

"Fine. But we'll need a floor plan and a way out."

Kurama gave her a startled look. He was the one who was going to tell them what they needed.

"How...?"

"I've stolen from my uncle often enough that I can come up with a plan," said Haruka with a shrug.

Hiei looked pleased that Haruka agreed to help them.

"So tell me the specifics about this heist," said Haruka calmly.

"There is a vault in the afterlife that has three items. An orb, a mirror and a sword. We need at least two of those items," said Hiei.

"You want the sword, right?"

"Hn."

"Who works there?"

"Ferry girls, ogres, spirit hunters who track and kill demons, and an assortment of spirits that are waiting to pass on. They're lead by Enma and his son Koenma."

"Who's the bigger threat?"

"Enma. From what I've heard, Koenma is little more than a toddler."

"Right. So tell me more about these ferry girls. If we're going to pull this off we'll need someone in the inside," said Haruka.

"The ferry girls are the ones who bring the souls of the dead to the spirit world," said Kurama.

"Basically they're the grim reapers," said Haruka. Kurama nodded.

"Right. I'll become a ferry girl and make a floor plan. You two get whatever you need to pull this off."

"How do you plan on getting to the spirit world? You aren't dead or a demon," said Hiei.

"There are other beings who can cross freely Hiei. Just show me where it is and I'll pull it off."

Hiei showed Haruka how to get there and back, and she prepared to infiltrate the spirit world. Sirius promised to help, since she told him she was up to mischief worthy of the Marauders. He promised to enchant her map once she made it.

She concentrated on her dragon's jewel, and allowed the shift to occur. Her coloring was different today.

Every since Ceres had shown her how to change it to blend in, she had practiced it often. She had discovered that she was a natural Metamorphamagi. It made blending in ridiculously easy.

* * *

Once she reached the Reikai, she entered without challenge. Her first trick was complete. It didn't take long before she had been given a test and turned into a ferry girl. Her instructor was a nice woman named Yuri.

Yuri was a thirty year old female with bright red hair and jade green eyes. She looked very familiar to Haruka.

"So Haruko, what made you decide to join the ferry girls?" asked Yuri in a calm manner.

"I was bored waiting to pass on and this seemed like a better way to kill time," lied Haruka.

"It was the same for me. Of course they did add some restrictions as to where I was allowed to go," said Yuri with a scowl.

"Oh?"

"I have a son who's still among the living. He's currently in Europe. Scotland to be precise. Of course if I wanted to I could haunt the school he's attending, but it might make him really depressed."

"That's too bad. What's his name?"

"Harry. Oh! Look at the time! We need to get going," said Yuri, eager to change the subject.

She seemed so sad when she mentioned her son. And Haruka was having a bad feeling as to who Yuri actually was.

For the next few months, Haruka carefully cultivated a fake persona in the spirit world. To them, she was a scatterbrained ferry girl who had a hard time finding her way around. Finally, one of the demon hunters took pity on her and drew a map of the building. His name was Raion.

Raion was a medium height male about thirty. He had really messy hair and hazel eyes.

"Try not to get lost, okay Haruko?" said Raion cheerfully. Like Yuri he was restricted from Europe. His son lived in Scotland. Haruko learned that he and Yuri were husband and wife.

So in an attempt to get on his good side, she did something she normally wouldn't do.

She hexed Raion's hair Slytherin green and silver. And grinned the entire way back to the ferry girl break room. (She heard him howl with horror halfway back. Then he tried to find who pranked him.)

"Hello Yuri-san! Why was your husband wearing silver and green hair?" she asked with a grin.

"He what?" said Yuri confused. When she saw what Haruka meant, she groaned.

"Now he'll spend the rest of the week trying to find who did it and then attempt to prank the office. Just what I don't need," she sighed.

* * *

Haruka was shocked to see Yusuke in the office. She pretended she didn't see him. He could blow her cover!

So she went about her day, before she managed to slip out. As far as the office was concerned, she was only a part time ferry girl. They didn't care what she did with her time, so long as she came when called.

That was when she heard about the accident. And she went to pay her respects.

She later asked Botan whether the boy had been scheduled to die and learned of his predicament. Yusuke was in the same situation she was. He had to pass a test in order to be able to move about like before.

* * *

Sirius finished enchanting the map Raion drew. Of course when he looked at it he gave her an odd look.

"This looks like Prong's handwriting."

"It is," said Haruka.

Sirius gave her an odd look.

"You saw them?"

"They're under orders not to go to Europe. They had no idea who I was," said Haruka in a strained voice. Sirius held her as she cried. It had hurt when she had met her two closest friends in the spirit world. And it had pained her when they didn't recognize her.

* * *

They would strike when Enma was gone. It was the only sane thing they could do. So Haruka waited until she learned he would go on a business trip in a few months.

Meanwhile she decided to help Yusuke out while he was stuck as a wandering ghost. She kept a close eye on his loved ones, and whenever he said something, she would pass it on to them.

Botan wasn't happy about that, but since Haruka was technically acting as a medium, there was nothing she could do. It wasn't against the rules after all.

Ceres looked at her jewel, and told her **"We'll need to see the council again. Tell your friends and school that something came up. You'll be gone for a few days."**

"Okay. I'll be back in a few hours."

Sirius was first. He agreed to play sick while she ditched school. Kurama and Hiei just waved her on and went back to their daily routine. Yusuke wouldn't need her for a while.

"**Let's go."**

* * *

She flew alongside Ceres in her dragon form, which had grown in the months she took the test. Her jewel, which had been night black when she received it, had slowly turned gray, then a very pale silver. Strangely, the only wish she had even made on it was the one which turned her into a female. Every night she would attempt to synch up with the jewel. And by morning it would be a little paler.

Now it almost resembled star silver.

Haruko walked up the stairs behind Ceres. This was most likely a check up to see how far she had come. For some strange reason, every time she became a dragon, she returned to being a male. But after nearly six months of being a girl, her thinking had changed.

Once they entered the council space, she realized this wasn't an evaluation at all. Something big was about to happen. She could feel it.

"**Elders of the council, I present my apprentice. She has come far in the six months since receiving her jewel."**

Ceres glanced at Haruko, who took the hint. She presented her jewel. In the light it was almost a starry silver.

"**Indeed. And it does not show signs of use, like many who have taken the test."**

Ceres had told her of the other young dragons who took the test. Most went about the country granting wishes in an attempt to change the color of their pearls faster.

And their attempts rarely, if ever, worked. Unless they were particularly choosy about what wishes they granted.

"**This jewel appears to have only been used once," **said another.

Haruka looked embarrassed.

"_I only used it to avoid capture. People from the West were attempting to retrieve me," _explained Haruka.

The dragons nodded. That was an acceptable excuse.

"**You have proven yourself a worthy dragon, Harry Potter. Or should I say Haruka Black?" **grinned one dragon. He had a lot of sharp teeth.

"_I prefer Haruka Black. No one bothers her and no one cares about what she does."_

"**You've come a long way in six months. In fact, you have come far enough that we are willing to grant you your wishing jewel. A full six months early."**

This was what she had felt. Something big was happening!

"**In order to fully unlock your jewel's power, you must make a wish on it."**

Haruka thought carefully about her wish.

_I wish that I could switch between my boy and girl forms with ease._

There was a flash of light, and Haruka looked at her pearl. It was now a bright star silver, the same as the one Ceres had. Her pearl had become synched with her.

The dragons roared as one. They had a new dragon in their midst.

Ceres and Haruka left the summit, walking together. Haruka was now on par with her friend.

"**You do realize that now you'll be accountable for your own actions. I won't be able to cover for you anymore."**

"_You've been covering for me?"_

Ceres gave her an amused look.

"**You didn't think your romps in the Spirit world went unnoticed did you?"**

"_I didn't think anyone cared."_

"**Oh please. You thought the council didn't notice you becoming a _ferry girl_ when you aren't even dead?"**

"_Technically I DID die when I was a year old. I just didn't stay dead."_

"**Point."**

"_Have I done anything wrong?"_

"**That's debatable. I will leave you a book on rules, but you should be fine on your own."**

"_Am I allowed to leave the East?"_

"**Not for another three years. Then you'll be old enough to be on your own in Europe and the Americas. You're still a hatchling in the eyes of the Magical Communities."**

"_So what would happen if Dumbledore tried to force me back using a portkey?"_

Ceres snorted.

**"The thing would only work as far as Korea. Then it would drop you on the shore and you could fly yourself home. After which he would get an irate letter from the council, who would drag his ass to the spirit world."**

Haruka grinned at that thought. It would be totally be worth ferrying souls just to see that moment.

* * *

Sirius decided to throw a bit of a party. Not just for her, but also for Yusuke for returning to life.

Yusuke was all for it, because Sirius had butterbeer. (And he had to be assured that it was in fact alcoholic. Kurama and Hiei were there too, only under protest.

Haruka walked up to them with a grin.

"I have the map. We just have to wait for him to go on the business trip in a week."

"Are you ready to rob them?" asked Kurama in a low voice.

"Don't worry. I'm providing the distraction. You two take what you need and split. As far as they will know, I was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time."

She highlighted her part of the heist. While she set off the distraction (the twin's fireworks and several dungbombs in strategic places) Hiei and Kurama would break in and steal two of the Items of Darkness from the vault. They would then run into her (playing the part of the poor ferry girl) and knock her out.

It was brilliant. They could hardly claim she was in on it when they knock her out, and since she wasn't stealing anything they couldn't pin it on her either.

But it was hardly foolproof. They had to keep the map after all. If that fell at any point and someone found it, then they would know that 'Haruko' was an inside man.

Which is why Kurama was put in charge of holding onto it.

* * *

A week later, King Enma left for his trip. Kurama and Hiei were alerted to the fact by a simple joke she left them.

She set off fox nip in Kurama's apartment. Once he finally managed to sober up, they left.

Haruka was flying over the river with a passenger when she saw the two. She left the man at the desk and then hit the first bomb. That set off a timed reaction to the others.

By the time Kurama and Hiei went in, the place was in total chaos. (Needless to say Raion was loving every minute of it and taking notes...which were later confiscated by Yuri who growled "Don't get any ideas!")

They broke into the vault with relative ease (after all, who would steal from the King of the Afterlife?) and then checked the map. Haruka was heading their way as planned.

They spotted her before she spotted them. Kurama hit her with sleep dust before she could react and blow her cover. He didn't want bad acting to ruin this part.

She fell down like a sack of bricks.

They made it out with plenty of time. It had taken less than half a hour to get in, steal the items and escape.

* * *

Haruka was shaken awake by Yuri, who was concerned.

"Are you alright?"

"Hit with sleep dust. Would it have killed them to use it on a carpet where it isn't so cold?" she growled tiredly.

(She was not by nature a morning person. She blamed the Dursleys for that.)

"What happened?" asked Raion.

"I heard the commotion and went to investigate. They must have been around the corner when one hit me with enough sleep dust to knock me out for a while."

"We have evidence that there were two demons and possibly a magic user. You're lucky they didn't do worse," said Raion. (He only knew it was a magic user because of the dungbombs.)

"I guess."

"Koenma is ordering all ferry girls not on duty to take a day off while they sort through the mess. Apparently they have the death list all mixed up, and he didn't see the point of the girls hanging around."

"I'm off then. See you tomorrow," said Haruka.

"Be careful, Haru," said Raion.

* * *

Haruka headed straight home and poured a large cup of black tea. Her head was killing her from the landing.

Her cell rang. It was Kurama.

She answered it with a growl.

"Did you have to use _that_ much sleep dust?" she snarled.

"_Only way to make sure you didn't do any bad acting. At least the fall looked real."_

"And now I have a splitting migraine. Did you at least get the items?"

"_Yes. But now you can't see us until we're done with them."_

"Who the hell said I can't? I have my own way of throwing off pursuit. I'll see you in two hours, usual spot."

"_Be careful."_

Haruka downed a migraine potion and got ready to see her friends. As far as the Spirit world was concerned, she was off to spar with them.

They never figured out that Haruka Black was the clumsy and misguided Haruko.

Just as well.


	7. Chapter 7

Haruka landed on a branch. Kurama was waiting.

"I hate you right now," she growled.

"Migraine still there?"

"Yes. How much of that crap did you use?"

He tossed her the antidote.

"Take this after the potion wears off. It should reverse the effects. By tomorrow you'll be fine."

* * *

The next day Haruka came down with a nasty fever. The plants Kurama had given her took away the migraine, but he didn't know that taking the potion and the plants would have an unpleasant side effect.

Sirius, when he learned of her condition, forgot all about going out. It took her three days to get over her fever.

Ceres watched the little incident unfold. He had sent that fever her way to remind her to behave. Not that she knew that. Young dragons needed to be kept in line often, or they would turn into ferals.

Of course Haruka had never been normal. While she was sick in bed, she began to develop a new ability for her dragon form.

* * *

Once she was back from being sick, she sought out her friends. Only to discover that A) Kurama was currently in a Reikai prison after surrendering his stolen mirror, and that B) their current Detective was about to go after Hiei next.

So she decided to intervene. Hiei was her friend, and she wasn't going to lose him to some jumped up punk!

Hiei nearly jumped when Haruka appeared out of nowhere behind him. He sneered at his third partner. She was weak in his eyes.

"Have you heard about Kurama?"

"He gave into his weak human emotions and surrendered the mirror once he saved his mother. (Here he spat.) Pathetic."

Haruka's eyes narrowed. This wasn't Hiei.

"Who's the idiot after you?"

"Your delinquent friend Urameshi."

"Figures. My luck would be that bad. So what's the plan?" she asked.

She stayed with Hiei and waited for him to make his move.

He did it when she was about to head to school. While she headed to Meioh, he kidnapped Yusuke's friend Keiko. It was then that Haruka knew he was being controlled.

* * *

She rushed towards the warehouse where Hiei waited. Along the way she ran into Yusuke and Botan.

"Yusuke! What are you doing here?" she shouted.

"Haruka! Keiko's been kidnapped by a demon."

"It's not Hiei's fault. That sword is controlling him. Otherwise he never would have targeted a normal human!" said Haruka, as they reached the warehouse.

"Yusuke, we can't involve a human in this!"

"Can it Botan. Hiei's a friend of mine!" she growled.

She looked startled.

"How does a human know my name?" she asked.

Haruka smirked. She shifted her hair with a flip, and tried not to laugh at the gobsmacked look on Botan's face.

"Recognize me now, blue girl?"

"Haruko?"

They entered the warehouse quietly. In front of them was a wall of controlled humans.

"Hiei! Where are you?" Haruka called out.

"So you've sided with the detective, eh Haruka?" sneered Hiei.

Haruka felt the cruel blade at her neck. Hiei had used his speed to come up behind her.

"You're being controlled you idiot," she growled.

Hiei sneered again, and went back to his previous position beside Keiko.

"Haruko-chan, how do you know he's being controlled by the blade?" asked Botan, uncertain.

"Because if Hiei wanted to make an army of low level demons, he would have had more sense than to use run-of-the-mill mundane humans," Haruka stated.

Yusuke and Botan rushed to Keiko's side. Something was wrong. There was a cut on her forehead that was slowly opening.

"Botan, you take care of Keiko. Yusuke and I will deal with Hiei," Haruka called out.

_I wish for the power to flit through the sky._

Haruka's jewel glowed brightly, and she felt a little different.

Before Hiei or Yusuke could react, she tried out her new power. Best to add a catchphrase so it didn't activate without warning. She grinned. She had the perfect phrase for it.

"_I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!"_

She jumped, and didn't fall. She was floating!

She took advantage of this new ability to fly circles around the irate Hiei.

_"How..."_ he started as he slashed at her, _"are..."_ another slash_ "you..."_ a jab this time_ "doing..."_ a thrust _"this?"_

Haruka flitted above him with a smirk.

"That is a secret!" she wagged her finger at him. Yusuke was under her, grinning. He loved her pranks...so long as he wasn't the target.

She flew around like a bird on a breeze, while Yusuke attempted to wear down Hiei. He wasn't doing too good.

Once she was close enough to the ground, Hiei took his chance and managed to cut her forehead with the blade. Unlike Keiko, her third eye was opening much faster.

The pain was almost unbearable, but Haruka recognized the feeling right off.

That blade had a spell almost identical to the Imperious curse! Ceres had told her what to do in case she was hit by an unforgivable.

Call upon her dragon powers.

"_Dragon Eyes!"_

Her eyes shifted shape, becoming slitted like a cat. The cut on her head healed over at an alarming rate.

"_Now you've annoyed me, Hiei Jaganshi."_

Hiei smirked at her.

"What are you going to do, onna? Prank me like you did at the Reikai office?"

Her answering smirk was much more predatory, for it had sharp fangs.

"_Not quite,"_ she chuckled. And then she blew flames at him. Startled, Hiei almost didn't evade the blast.

He decided to take care of Yusuke before he dealt with the mysterious Haruka. (And he would never admit it, but he liked her. She was a fiery girl who was very much like himself.)

As he went to stab Yusuke, who was completely bound, he got a nasty shock. Kurama had taken the brunt of the blade! He threw his blood into the third eye on Hiei's forehead, which blinded him.

"_Hello Kurama,"_ said Haruka calmly. Kurama raised an eyebrow at the sight of her eyes, but said nothing. Instead he went to help Botan with Keiko.

Yusuke, in a final attempt to take out Hiei, shot his spirit energy behind the fiery yokai. The blast ricocheted off the Dark Mirror and hit Hiei!

Seeing no point in hovering anymore, Haruka whispered_ "Mischief Managed!"_

Yusuke confiscated the sword and gave the items to Botan. Who had Kurama and Haruka grab Hiei. There was going to be some explaining to do at the office.

* * *

Haruka wasn't the least bit surprised that she was stuck in a cell with Hiei and Kurama. She had seen the shocked look on Raion and Yuri's faces when they learned she had been in on the plan to rob the reikai.

"So how are you going to keep from being thrown in jail for the next fifty years or put under house arrest?" asked Kurama, bored.

"I have a few secrets up my sleeve. For one thing, I'm already under house arrest and two, Enma actually has no jurisdiction on me. And the ones who do could care less if I blew up the reikai."

"So you're a demon?" asked Hiei.

"Immortal, and not a demon. If I did get offed, I wouldn't even come here. I would ascend straight to another plane entirely."

Kurama and Hiei stared at her. They had thought she was an odd half demon who could use magic. Especially when her eyes shifted and she floated.

"Besides, even if he did try to keep me under house arrest or put me in jail, he couldn't."

"Why?"

"For starters, my name isn't Haruka Black..." she started when Kurama grinned.

"I knew it! I knew you were lying that day!"

She smirked.

"Yup. In fact, I wasn't even born a girl. I turned into one completely by accident."

Hiei gave her an incredulous look.

"How the hell does someone 'accidentally' turn into a girl?"

"Long story short, I was taking a test and the bauble wasn't fully synched with my magic yet."

That satisfied their curiosity.

"If all goes how I plan, I'll be out by Thursday," she smirked.

* * *

Thursday was when their trial was scheduled. They would all be charged at once. Kurama and Hiei for theft, and Haruka for aiding and abetting.

Enma scowled at them. He wasn't too happy that a jumped up ferry girl and two low level demons had stolen from him. Koenma was there as well. He was trying to get them leniency. Yuri and Raion didn't know why, but they had felt a compulsion to come. Besides, they were the only ones to really befriend Haruko before they learned the truth.

And they were all in for a nasty shock.

"Haruka Black, Yoko Kurama, Hiei Jaganshi... you are charged..." Enma started, but Haruka zoned out. She tried not to yawn.

Enma noticed that and growled.

"Am I boring you, Black?"

She yawned widely and tried to stay awake.

He had his son bring up the defense. Koenma did his best to paint them in a good light, but the charges were serious. It was very likely that Kurama and Hiei would be killed at the very least, and Haruka placed in prison. So he called up each of them individually. Kurama had to poke Haruka to wake her up for her turn.

"Haruka Black, why did you help them steal the Items of Darkness?"

"Because they needed my help and it was the only way I could see that would prevent bloodshed," she stated simply.

She held no remorse for the chaos she caused. Enma was about to sentence them when they all heard a clash of thunder. Haruka grinned.

"It's about time he got here."

A man dressed in all black waltzed into the courtroom. His eyes were slitted like a snake.

"**Hello King Enma,"**said Ceres.

"What do you want Night Dragon?"

"**The council was curious as to why you are trying to imprison a Celestial Dragon on such minor charges."**

Enma's eyes widened in fury. He looked to Haruka who waved cheerfully.

"This brat is a Celestial?" he ground out.

Ceres looked to her and gave a toothy grin.

"**Harry, why don't you show them the truth?"**

Haruka smirked. Her hand morphed into a claw and without warning she swipe off a large chunk of her ponytail. Her hair barely reached her neck. The ends of her hair now spiked every which way. Flames engulfed her and where Haruka Black once stood, Harry Potter took her place.

"You're late Ceres. I thought you would be here an hour ago," he said.

"**Honestly Harry, can you blame me for wanting a proper dramatic entrance?"**

Yuri and Raion's eyes were comically wide. And shocked.

Enma just looked even more pissed off. Not only was the girl a dragon, she was also the infamous Harry bloody Potter! Who was _supposed _to still be in England!

"There is a way to resolve this, King Enma," said Harry calmly.

He waited for the boy's ultimatum. It was bad enough he was charging the boy on relatively minor crimes. But if the council took offense there would be no end the headaches he would get from them!

"Place Yoko Kurama and Hiei Jaganshi under my supervision. If they get out of hand you can blame me for it," said Harry smoothly.

Enma decided to cut his losses.

"Done. The sentence is this. Yoko Kurama, Hiei Jaganshi, you are hearby placed under the supervision of Haruka...Harry Potter. If you break another law, he will be sentenced to three hundred years in reikai prison."

Enma slammed the gavel on the podium. He was off to get drunk...very drunk.

* * *

Yuri and Raion approached Harry once the sentence was laid. They had a few questions for the boy.

"Haru, why didn't you tell us you were a celestial dragon?" asked Kurama in shock.

"And spoil my fun? Besides, if Enma knew I was a celestial, then he would have bitched to the council."

Hiei snorted, as it was a likely scenario.

Koenma wasn't too happy about how they won, but he was willing to accept it for now.

"So what do you plan on doing now?"

"Is it alright if I continue being a part time ferry girl? I like flying."

"But you're a boy!" said Botan.

"Not exactly. When I was told that I made full dragon status, I had to make a wish so the jewel would fully synch with my magic. What I wished was that I could switch between the two freely. Besides, I like being Haruka."

"So all this time you've been lying to us?" asked Hiei.

Harry turned to him.

"Look, I was tired of people only wanting to be my friend because I happen to be rich or famous for something I didn't do. That's the only reason I never told you two."

"And is Sirius really your uncle?" asked Kurama.

"Yes and no. Sirius was my dad's best friend who recently broke out of jail. So Ceres and I took him with us to Japan."

Kurama noticed that the ferry girl and demon hunter were silent during this exchange.

"And what of your parents?" asked Kurama. He suspected something, but he couldn't say what.

"Dead. Ever since I was a year and a half. The woman who raised me was supposed to me my blood aunt, but I will never believe that Petunia Dursley is related to me. May that horse faced bitch rot in the lowest circle of hell," he growled.

"Harry?" said Yuri in shock.

He turned to the two. And smiled, though it was a bit sad.

"Hello Mum...Dad."

* * *

_**Cliffy! Bet you weren't expecting that, were you? Needless to say Yuri (Lily) and Raion (James) won't be happy with Ol' Dumbledore. How will Harry/Haruka effect the Reikai Tantei team? And what is the ominous shadow that lurks in their future?**_


	8. Chapter 8

It wasn't a hallmark moment for Harry as he faced his parents for the first time. Their looks of shock almost made the reunion worth waiting for. Too bad it couldn't last.

"Harry...how...?" stammered Raion in shock.

"Dumbledore forced me to live with the Dursleys until I was eleven. Then he proceeded to 'test' me until I left with Ceres eight months ago."

"But you were never to go to Petunia!" said Yuri in anger.

"What?"

"We stated in the will that you were never to set foot in their house! We made a long list of other people that were supposed to take you in!" said Yuri.

"At the very least you should have gone to the Weaslys," said Raion once he got over the shock.

Harry grinned wildly.

"The Weaslys are my second family. Especially the twins...or should I say the next generation of _Marauders?_"

That had Raion's attention.

"Oh?"

"Fred and George took up your mantle of pranking at Hogwarts. They recently opened a shop where they sell their own pranks. Everyone knew who you were talking about if you mentioned the Terror Twins."

Raion cackled. Trust his son to find the pranksters in the school and befriend them.

"As touching as this moment is, can we go?" asked Hiei dryly.

"Anything against the rules for _Raion_ and _Yuri_ to go to the human world?" asked Harry.

Koenma shook his head.

"Officially they are now Raion and Yuri Tokomaru. As long as they don't set foot in England, they're allowed to live there."

"Good. I have a few people who would like to see you," smirked Harry, then he turned to his parents.

"Mind if I turn back into Haruka? It's easier being a girl, since no one is actually looking for her."

Raion shook his head.

"Go right ahead."

Water enveloped her this time, and where Harry once stood, Haruka took his place. Her hair was back to it's previous length.

"Damn. I was hoping to keep it short," said Haruka, pulling her hair in front of her. Kurama snickered. Haruka glared at him.

Haruka thoroughly enjoyed out-flying her own father. Raion's grin made the entire thing worth it.

Yuri, however, calmly flew behind them. Kurama and Hiei went to get Sirius and Hedwig under Ceres' watchful eye.

* * *

Sirius was surprisingly sober for a change. (Had declined to drink while his goddaughter/godson was in jail awaiting trial.) He went with the others without question.

When his eyes met with Raion, he stopped in shock. Then, without warning, he tackled him in a hug. Yuri shook her head in patient annoyance. Haruka and Yusuke started laughing.

It wasn't long before they were having a party. Yusuke, Atsuko and Sirius had all brought beer. Most of it was pretty strong, but Sirius had also brought enough butterbeer to keep Yuri from getting mad at him.

Before midnight had come, several of them were passed out drunk. Hiei had been convinced to join in on the drinking. As it turned out, he had a stronger stomach than Kurama.

(Kurama was passed out on the couch. Yuri took pity on him and put a blanket on him.)

Haruka on the other hand...

"I say we play strip poker! Hiei, you team up with Hedwig!"

Yusuke and Raion were all for it. Yuri sighed, and brought the cards. Soon they were Haruka was dealing out the cards, and spotted someone outside.

"Ceres, get in here and join in! You can play too, can't you?"

Ceres, who had only come in to see why Haruka's power was fluctuating so much, came in with a sigh. Sirius and Raion passed him some sake, and he joined in.

* * *

_Four hours later..._

The only ones who still had their clothes on were Haruka, Hiei and Yuri. Everyone else had either thrown in the towel (Atsuko and Yusuke, who had the worst poker faces) or were butt naked from losing too many times (Sirius, Ceres and Raion).

It was down to the wire. Haruka only had her shirt and a pair of boxers on. Hiei only had his pants on. Yuri had a long shirt on, and nothing else.

The one who beat the others in this round was going to be declared the winner.

"What'cha got?" asked Haruka in a slur.

Yuri grinned.

"Three jacks and two queens," said Yuri.

Hiei stared at his cards and said "Two kings and three twos."

Haruka smirked.

"Royal flush. Read 'em and weep!"

Haruka displayed an ace, king, queen, jack and a ten, all of the same suit. Yuri and Hiei groaned in horror.

"I win!"

Yuri stood up. Raion gave a wolf whistle, which earned him a good natured whack upside the head from his wife. Hiei finally fell to the amount of alcohol he had drank, and passed out. Haruka was long behind him.

Haruka grinned as she and Kurama headed to school. Her head was killing her, but she didn't care.

Kurama on the other hand...

"Why did I let you con me into drinking that stuff. What did you call it again?"

"Firewhiskey."

"You are evil. I may be a fox demon, but you are evil!" hissed Kurama, when he heard a car honk it's horn.

Haruka smirked at him evilly. Her head had started to die down, and she had to resist humming a tune.

"It's your own fault for not drinking that potion when Yuri offered it."

"I _thought_ it was poison. I couldn't even read with the way the room was spinning!" growled Kurama.

"It was a regular hangover remedy," cackled Haruka. (Had the common sense to ask what it was before drinking.)

"Remind me again why I have to come to school with a hangover this bad?" moaned Kurama. His head was murdering him.

"Because the school complained and Shiori called Sirius in concern?" Haruka smirked.

Kurama felt like throwing up again. Alcohol was _not_ kind to someone like him. He remembered the last time someone had conned him into drinking ten bottles of sake? What had he done that time...?

Oh yes...he had hung Kuronue from the ankles and cursed him out once he could think straight. Kuronue had thought it hilarious, and made it a point to laugh at him whenever he refused to drink without a set limit.

Kurama stopped at a wall, and stood there for a minute. He could feel the urge to vomit rising again.

Haruka actually felt pity for the poor fox. It wasn't his fault that he had a really low tolerance for liquor.

She reached for her jewel (disguised as a pendant) and made a silent wish on it.

_I wish I could heal my friends when they needed it._

The jewel hummed under her hands, and she could feel the change. She went to him and gently took Kurama's head in her hands. She concentrated on relieving the pain in his head, and within seconds Kurama felt much better.

"What was that?" asked Kurama, once she removed her hands.

"I made a wish, of course. I'm not the type to mock people when it's clear that their really suffering," said Haruka calmly.

"I'm really, really glad you're on my side, Haruka," said Kurama.

The rest of the day passed without incident.

* * *

"Blasted bugs! What the hell is with these bloody things?" growled Haruka, as she got up that morning.

For the past two days, the number of strange bugs had been increasing steadily. Now she couldn't even leave the apartment without getting hit in the face with one.

Hedwig seemed even _more _annoyed with them than her owner, if that was possible. She kept eating and eating them, without stopping. They were very irritating.

Haruka didn't even notice that something was changing about her beloved owl.

* * *

Haruka whined about the bugs to Kurama on the roof. It was their favorite spot to eat their lunch.

"I hate these things! What the hell are they?"

Kurama caught one and looked. His expression changed to one of true annoyance.

"Makai bugs. Normally they live in the Makai. I have no idea why their number swelled in the Ningenkai lately."

"Demon bugs? Great..." scowled Haruka.

"This amount of makai insects is abnormal. Perhaps you should inquire with Koenma about this problem? Too many and the normals will probably take notice before long."

"I think I will. These damn things are really getting on my nerves."

* * *

"Makai insects? They've been getting on my nerves lately too. I don't know if Koenma will know why they suddenly started to get worse though."

"I know, but it's just plain annoying to see them and have them smack me in the face in the morning."

"I suppose there's no real harm in asking," said Yuri calmly.

Once the news about Haruka got out, the other ferry girls at first decided to give her a wide berth. That is, until they figured out for themselves that she was still the same Haruko they knew. Even if they had to change the last letter of her name. It didn't really bother them about that, since she didn't give herself airs about the incident.

Haruka walked into Koenma's office. He seemed flustered for some reason.

She spotted the monitor and realized that it had a graph with the insects.

"So you are aware of the insect problem the human realm has been having lately. What the hell is going on?" asked Haruka.

"The four Saint Beasts want us to bring down the barrier that keeps them in check. Until we do, Suzaku has threatened to use his Makai whistle to control the bugs. I was about to send Botan so I could put Yusuke on the case," said Koenma.

Haruka rolled her eyes.

"Yusuke might not be able to handle them though. I'll call Kurama and Hiei. Between the three of us, we should be able to keep the idiot alive."

Koenma sighed with relief. He knew he could at least trust Haruka to do her best. In was in her blood after all. (Raion and Yuri were the best at what they did. Even Botan learned a few things from Yuri, and she was older than her!)

* * *

"So what's the problem? Aside from a few insects?" asked Hiei.

(Yuri and Raion had unofficially adopted the fiery yokai. Mostly because it was clear that he and Haruka were practically brother and sister anyway.)

"A _few_ insects?" shrieked Haruka. (Had quickly developed a fierce dislike of the things within days.)

Kurama quickly managed to calm Haruka down by holding on her shoulder. She couldn't exactly strangle Hiei if he was holding her back, no could she?

"Either way, I want to deal with these 'Saint Beasts' quickly. Before this problem escalates even further," said Haruka in a growl.

"Why do I have the feeling there is a catch to this?" asked Hiei.

"We're working with Yusuke on this one. Hedwig will assist Botan with the insect problem on this side."

"Fine. But you owe me for this," said Hiei.

"What do you want?"

"A new sword. This one is close to breaking," said Hiei.

"Deal."

Hiei, Kurama and Haruka went past the barrier to where Yusuke was. Koenma had given them permission to cross, and Raion let them through. Haruka had her Firebolt on her wrist, and flew alongside the demons.

Her black hat kept threatening to come off. She had bought it at a costume shop for fun. Kurama had tried unsuccessfully to keep from laughing when she showed up wearing it. (Yuri had no such qualms. She had cracked up when Haruka showed her the new look.)

Finally they spotted Yusuke. Haruka scowled when she saw Kuwabara there as well. Hiei and Kurama dealt with the demons simply by revealing their presence.

"Haruka! What are you doing here?" asked Yusuke.

"Koenma asked for my help. Besides, those damn bugs are really getting on my nerves," said Haruka.

"Who's she?" asked Kuwabara.

"Oh please. Don't tell me your memory is _that _bad. I'm the girl who gave you that black eye because you insinuated I was weak because of my gender," sneered Haruka.

Kuwabara's eyes widened. He finally recognized her.

"YOU!"

"Yes me, you red haired moron. Why you even bothered to come, I have no idea."

They continued on. Haruka flew over the Gate of Betrayal while the others went through it. Which is the main reason they survived. While the one eyed bat kept his attention on them, Haruka lowered her broom and tripped the switch. Before the trap could crush her, she flew away.

She landed briefly and talked to Kurama. He nodded.

"We'll catch up with you once we reach the next level," he replied.

"See you at the landing pad!"

He smiled. She had a strange sense of humor.

* * *

Haruka was bored. And quite annoyed at the overgrown furball who had hurt her ears.

She heard someone running out. And grinned.

"Haruka!"

"Bout time you reached here, Yusuke."

"Can you heal Kurama? He took a hit from this weird turtle dude."

"His name is Genbu Yusuke. And I'm fine," said Kurama.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Genbu struck him from behind using his tail. Kurama killed him," said Hiei calmly.

"Alright. Take off the shirt, fox boy," said Haruka in a no nonsense tone.

Kuwabara wasn't the only one who sputtered when she said that. Kurama did as well.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Either you take it off willingly so I can treat it, or I use a stunner and it still comes off," said Haruka amused.

Kurama allowed her to treat the wound. It was bad, but not too severe. She used a minor healing charm and then bound the wound with her magic. No point using her dragon powers for such a minor wound.

(Kurama noted with interest the flushed look on Hiei and Yusuke's face. He didn't know whether Haruka had done the same, since her face was in shadow the whole time.)

She stood. And then turned to Byakko.

"Well. I have grown bored with waiting. Mind if I take this furry bastard on?"

Kurama had an amused look on his face, as did Hiei.

"By all means," said Kurama with a slight bow.

Kuwabara protested, and only shut up when Haruka's eyes changed shape. They now resembled a cat's eye. And her mouth had two triangles where her canine teeth were at. Almost like they had grown into fangs...

"Are you a vampire?" asked Kuwabara in shock.

Before she could respond, Yusuke, Hiei and Kurama all burst out laughing. Two of them even fell over laughing their asses off.

"_I am not some bloody vampire, you idiot!"_ she growled.

Kuwabara was taken aback by the change in her voice.

Kurama finally regained enough of his composure to say, "Haruka is not a vampire. Her aura is too pure for something that foul."

"What is she then?"

Haruka smirked. She decided to have some fun with him. She flipped her hair, and suddenly flames erupted.

"_She...is a he,_" smirked Harry.

It was too much for the red head. Yusuke watched in complete amusement as the red haired idiot passed out. He started to cackle at the sight.

(Yusuke had been informed of her original gender by Yuri and Raion. He just had Haruka explain how the hell he became a she and learned the gist of what happened.)

Harry adjusted his hat. It fit neatly on his head...considering his hair had been in a pony tail early, that made sense.

"_I think I'll have some fun with this," _said Harry, with a large grin. Kurama leaned back against the stone, with a smile.

Hiei watched in amusement...while Yusuke took a stick and kept poking Kuwabara to amuse himself. The idiot still hadn't woken up.

"A mere human dares to challenge me? I shall feast on your flesh," sneered Byakko.

"_Oh, I wouldn't call me a mere human,"_ said Harry.

Without warning he transformed. From a short boy into a large silver dragon. Yusuke whistled, impressed. Kurama and Hiei's eyes widened in surprise. They had never seen his dragon form before.

Byakko roared in surprise. Harry roared even louder. (This in turn woke up Kuwabara, who fainted again when he saw the dragon in front of him.)

Harry's body coiled lazily around the bridge. He was very long, and very big.

"_You, and your partners, have annoyed me greatly. Do not expect a quick death," _said Harry.

Byakko attempted to kill him using his fur sendings. Harry's flames roasted them before they came close. When he absorbed his reiki, something strange happened.

"What...what's happening?" screamed Byakko. He was clutching his throat and stomach in pain.

"IT BURNS!"

Byakko erupted into blue and red flames. His body became ash before their eyes.

Harry's coiled form slowly stretched out onto the stone. He was easily twice the size of the platform. When he undid his loops, he was curled around himself like a sleeping snake. His roar enveloped him in red and gold flames, and from that blaze he began to shrink.

When it died down, Haruka stood there smirking with her black witch hat on. Her fangs and eyes were back to normal. Kurama, Hiei and Yusuke just stared at her.

"What was the deal with the flames?" Yusuke finally asked.

"What? Am I not allowed to be a _little_ flashy every once in a while?" asked Haruka with a pout.

Kurama had a grin on his face. Hiei scowled.

"That was more than a little flashy," retorted Hiei.

Kuwabara finally woke up from the heat. Haruka gave him a look.

"I surprised you didn't wet yourself," she said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.

"I mean you fainted not once, but twice! And for relatively stupid reasons!"

"Any _normal_ person would faint or freak out from finding out that someone was a dragon!" he retorted.

Haruka rolled her eyes.

"Since when is hanging out with someone who can fight demons normal? And besides, from what Yusuke said it was _your_ idea to barge in on this mission unannounced!"

They continued like this into the chamber. Haruka and Hiei were the only ones unaffected by the heat. In the center of the chamber was Byakko. He looked worse for wear. Apparently celestial flames were difficult for even a demon to handle.

He scowled when he saw her. Kuwabara, eager to prove he wasn't a complete wimp, demanded that he be allowed to finish the cat off. Haruka was in a mood to humor him.

* * *

"I can't believe that idiot was only saved by a strip of cloth," said Haruka.

"I can't believe he even knows what he's doing," answered Hiei.

Yusuke was still grinning over the fact that Haruka kept beating up Kuwabara with logic. Kurama did the only sane thing he could. He kept his mouth shut and wished he had something for the migraine that was developing.

He also made a note never to leave Yusuke, Kuwabara and Haruka alone in the same room for longer than ten minutes. Their arguing would give anyone a massive headache. (That, and Haruka and Yusuke would tag team against Kuwabara in a heartbeat.)


	9. Chapter 9

_**(For those of you who are easily embarrassed or are rather prudish, I would recommend skipping some of this chapter. Don't say I didn't warn you!)**_

* * *

Haruka was annoyed. Why? Because she had seen what Seiryuu did to Byakko. Byakko was annoying, but he had trusted Seiryuu to help him. Instead Seiryuu killed him without hesitation. Even Hiei looked pissed off.

Hiei took off his cloak. Haruka held it for him.

Kuwabara shivered. His jacket had been burnt to a crisp by the lava. Even Yusuke was giving off some chills. It was below freezing in that room.

Haruka grinned. Her eyes became slitted and she turned into a slightly smaller version of her dragon form. The heat she radiated from her scales warmed up the humans. And it doubled as a protective barrier since even demons had trouble getting through an immortals hide.

Hiei made quick work of the demon, though he became annoyed when his blade snapped in half. He gave Haruka a look.

Haruka rumbled in amusement.

"_Hope you don't mind a sword made of dragon scales and forged by goblin smiths."_

His annoyed look vanished. Goblins were a lower form of yokai, but they were treated with respect. Mostly because of their ability to forge weapons that could take on the strongest aspects of anything they touched. Which meant if someone had a sword that was dipped in basilisk venom, the sword would absorb that poison and it would be able to kill anything it pierced. The venom would make quick work of any living thing not immune or treated with phoenix tears.

* * *

Haruka didn't feel like going back to human at the moment, since she rarely got to be a dragon without people panicking or asking her for wishes.

Kurama, when he saw her portable form, let her walk onto his shoulders.

She curled around his neck like a scarf. And she was purring like a cat, so Kurama occasionally scratched her scales.

Hiei looked amused at the sight. So did Yusuke.

Kuwabara, when he heard her purr, lost some of his fear of her true form. He was an avid cat fan. (But if he tried to pet her she nipped him. Yusuke couldn't stop snickering over that.)

They came to the outside. Since they had been walking for hours, they would take a small break. Five minutes wouldn't harm anything would it?

Haruka turned into her human form and watched Kuwabara blush heavily.

"I'm not going with a _girl_ watching me!" he protested.

Haruka snickered.

"Seriously? I'm a guy who got turned into a girl and now prefers this form. Like seeing that would really bother me."

Yusuke guffawed, and gave Haruka a good natured push.

"Alright, let's see what you got!" he leered.

Haruka smirked, and became Harry. It wasn't long before Yusuke, Kuwabara and Harry were all standing along the edge. Kurama was somewhat amused by the whole thing. Hiei could care less.

Harry sneered at Kuwabara, who had a rather short (ahem) pole. It was positively tiny! Yusuke snickered at his poor friend, since he beat him easily. But when they looked at Harry they gaped.

"And to think, I can't even change my appearance unless I'm a girl."

Kurama snickered. Out of all of them, Harry had them beat hands down.

Yusuke looked at Kurama speculatively.

"What about you Kurama?"

Harry snorted.

"He's a fox demon. It stands to reason that he would be better than the rest of us, and easily hornier than you on your worst day," said Harry.

Kurama blushed, his face matching his hair.

Yusuke couldn't stop laughing. He slapped Harry on the shoulder with a grin.

Harry decided to have some fun with the embarrassed fox.

"Kiss me, I'm half Irish."

Kurama, if it was possible, blushed harder as he looked at Harry's laughing eyes. Hiei looked absolutely amused now.

"Why are you blushing fox?" he said, trying not to grin.

Kurama glared at him.

"This coming from the 250 year old virgin?" said Kurama.

Harry and Yusuke stared at Hiei in disbelief.

"Two hundred and fifty year old virgin?" said Harry finally.'

"Dude...we need to get you laid," said Yusuke.

Hiei snarled at them "Try and die."

Kurama smirked.

"You do know I carry an array of aphrodisiacs..." he grinned.

Harry and Yusuke shared an evil look. Hiei felt a chill of foreboding.

* * *

The large amount of 'pod people' as Harry called them, annoyed him.

So Harry came up with a rather ingenious idea.

"How about I take Yusuke up to deal with this idiot and come back for you guys?"

"How do you plan to do that? You planning on bringing out your wings?" said Kuwabara annoyed, "Oh wait I forgot, you don't have any!"

Harry smirked cruelly.

"_**I solemnly swear I am up to no good!" **_

He started to float well above the pod people.

"Any other comments smart ass?"

Yusuke laughed, and grabbed Harry's hand. Harry managed to get them both into the window.

"Remind me to start carrying weights around. Unless you would like to drop a few pounds?" said Harry, trying to recover. He hadn't realized that carrying a passenger would be so difficult.

"Dude, we need to spar more often," said Yusuke. He had loved the flying bit.

Harry stood up.

"Let's just get this crap over with, and then we can focus on getting Hiei a girlfriend."

Yusuke laughed, and they ran up to the top of the tower. Harry waved with his hand.

"All yours. If you need help, just ask."

Yusuke grinned. He knew there was a reason he liked Harry as a friend.

* * *

"Seriously Yusuke? You hid your energy behind your shoes," said Harry in disbelief. Yusuke was out cold on Harry's back. Kuwabara had been knocked out by Kurama because he was annoying them all.

Hiei stayed far behind them all. He didn't trust Harry at the moment.

Kurama helped Harry load the boys into their houses. Atsuko had been protected by Sirius and Hedwig from the Makai bugs. Yuri had rescued Botan and Keiko while Raion made sure that the barrier was maintained. He grinned when he saw Harry.

Harry smirked when he spotted Raion.

Raion took Yusuke, since he could carry the weight better. Harry leaned into his father and whispered something in his ear. Raion's smirk grew wider...almost fox like. Hiei felt a shiver go down his back.

* * *

Yusuke and Kuwabara were almost vegetables for a week. They had used up so much of their power that they could barely walk for days. Fortunately, Haruka took pity on them and gave them potions to build up their strength.

While she enjoyed the peace and quiet, she noted that something was off about Kurama lately.

He seemed well...demonic.

Shiori was too busy moving to notice the change, so Haruka offered to let Kurama stay a few nights at her place. Sirius was off courting Atsuko (Raion had noticed the attraction and pushed his friend to go for it.)

Haruka and Kurama would be alone for three whole days. Hiei was avoiding everyone like the plague after Raion tried to get him drunk. He knew exactly what Haruka had told Raion, and he wanted none of it.

Kurama went to her house with some trepidation. He had been feeling off since the Hunter's Moon had been in the sky. And he knew he would feel like this for at least a few days more.

Hunter's Moon was the time of year when foxes found mates. And he was suppressing his urges as much as he could to avoid mishaps. It wasn't easy...but it helped that all the humans he was around didn't arouse his interest. Well, most humans.

Which was why he wasn't looking forward to the next few days. Being around Haruka during this time could prove disastrous. She was the most interesting human he had ever met. It didn't hurt that she was also a dragon, who normally would fight over territory with a fox. Even if she could turn into a boy at will, he still liked her. It wasn't like he was _that_ choosy.

* * *

Haruka found an odd plant she didn't recognize. Since Kurama was staying at her place for the entire week (Shiori had called ahead to ask if he wouldn't mind staying longer) she would see if he knew what it was. It had a pleasing scent, so she picked a few of them.

Kurama looked up when he felt her coming up. He didn't catch the scent until halfway to the door. His eyes flashed gold. It seemed that Haruka had unwittingly picked some very powerful fox nip. It often doubled as an aphrodisiac for those who knew how to use them.

This would be an interesting time.

_I don't see why you are so hesitant with her. It's very obvious that she's interested._

Because the last thing I want to do is scar her. She _is_ a dragon you know.

_Bah. It's not like she won't be begging for it once you set those flowers to full bloom._

Or she could return to her male form and then we'd both be out of luck.

_As if her turning into Harry would stop me. She's of age as a human, and she's about the right age for a dragon. So either help me or shut up._

Kurama winced. If his Yoko side took over, it would spell bad news for Haruka. He was known as the Seducer for a reason.

* * *

Haruka came into the house. She removed her shoes without thinking. It had become second nature to her after all these months.

She looked at the date and grinned. In three days time she would be fifteen. Sirius and Raion had both promised the largest party they could create. The twins would be arriving from England and were planning on setting up a second shop if they could wing it. They already had the one in Hogsmeade being built.

"Hey Kurama. I found these weird plants and wondered if you knew what they were," she said, handing him the flowers. The red and yellow coloring made her grin. Sirius definitely wouldn't mind having these around. The buds weren't open yet, but she knew Kurama could probably get them to bloom.

"Oh I know what these are. I haven't seen these in a long while though."

It was something in his voice that made her look at him closely. His eyes weren't emerald right now...they were golden. Somehow she had a feeling that the flowers were responsible.

"Kurama...are you okay?" she asked carefully.

"Perfectly fine Haruka."

Seeing the way his eyes moved with her, she knew that it was Yoko who was in control. She didn't show any fear, after all, there was nothing he could do to her. She was a dragon, he was a fox.

Hedwig was at Yuri's, since she had been feeling under the weather for a while now.

So when he made his move, she almost didn't react.

She pinned him under her. He looked very amused.

"What is that flower?" she demanded.

Yoko Kurama smirked.

"Fox nip, if you must know. But it has a secondary property that makes it very popular when it blooms."

She had a feeling as to _what _it was. Before she could cast the bubble head charm, Yoko Kurama sent his youki to the flowers. They bloomed.

She got a lungful of pollen and sneezed.

Her body felt like it was on fire.

Yoko Kurama slid from under her. His amusement was obvious.

"Did you know Haruka, that during the Hunter's Moon, a fox is allowed to search for it's mate? The older the fox, the better their chances."

Haruka watched him. She had never felt like this in her entire life. Sure, she felt a strange twinge whenever she saw Kurama, but she had attributed that to friendship. Now she knew better.

What she felt every time she was around him wasn't a warm brotherly feeling like with Hiei. It was lust.

She tried to shift into her dragon form, and almost got stuck halfway.

But when she managed it, she realized something was wrong. Her body felt even hotter than before. Her scales had taken a reddish purple hue.

Yoko Kurama ran his hand along her scales. She felt a shiver of delight go up her spine. Suddenly she couldn't hold her shape anymore. She returned to being human!

Yoko Kurama held her face up to his own. Before she could react, he was kissing her! She couldn't help her reaction. She leaned into his touch.

He looked at her in genuine amusement.

"Well Haruka, would you like to have some fun?"

He lead her into her room. The scent of the flowers had begun to fade. He didn't need them anymore.

* * *

Haruka glared at Kurama. His eyes were still golden, and he was in big trouble.

"You...!" she growled.

Yoko Kurama smirked at her.

"Don't deny you didn't enjoy that. And you can't really blame anyone but yourself."

"You took advantage of me you ass!"

Yoko looked at her with a smirk.

"Please, that flower's pollen did most of the work. Besides, all it really does is lower the inhibitions of anyone who inhales it."

Haruka snarled at him. While he hadn't done anything more than kiss her, she was still furious.

"You are so in for it," she growled.

Yoko took the implied challenge with grace. Haruka, when she had come to her senses, had disposed of the flowers long before he had woken up.

Since she had woken up in a rage, he had teased her mercilessly.

"I am never trusting you again Kurama!" she snarled.

"Oh?" said Yoko, smirking wider. Before she realized it, he was by her side.

She didn't smell anything in the air, and most pollens that would make her attracted to him had a distinct scent. (Which is how she found all of them and destroyed them along with the red and gold flowers.)

"You really think I need a plant to attract you?" smirked Yoko.

Her breath was becoming ragged. Since it was a Sunday, school wouldn't be open. They would have the entire day to themselves.

Yoko placed his hand on her arm, and she felt a shiver go down her spine.

"Let go...!" she gasped.

"Not a chance. There's no pollen of any sort in the air Haruka. And it's not that cold in here...so why are you shivering?" he smirked.

Haruka tried to back away, but he wouldn't let her. And she really didn't want him to go. She was just frightened.

Yoko was at least gentle about the whole situation. He didn't go to fast, but he wasn't idle either. By the time he kissed her again, she realized the truth.

She had fallen for the fox. Hard.

* * *

Kurama was a bit embarrassed, but he wasn't complaining. Yoko had just allowed him to show Haruka how he really felt about her a lot sooner. Shiori already adored the girl, Sirius and the others had no issues with him being a demon, and it wasn't like there was an ongoing bet among them as to when they would start dating.

(Actually there was. Sirius, Raion and Yuri had conspired with Shiori as to when they should hold the wedding. They had realized how this would end a lot sooner than their children did.)

Yusuke spotted Haruka and Kurama and smirked.

"It's about time you two hooked up!"

"Huh?" said Kurama in shock.

"Oh please, how could you two not see it? You're both perfect for each other!" said Yusuke.

"Which means I win the bet Yusuke," said Hiei with a smirk.

"Hello Hiei," said Haruka dryly.

"Now you know why I've been missing all week. I know better than to get near the fox during this time of the year."

Haruka grinned. She took something out of her pocket and tossed it to Hiei. As it flew through the air it grew larger until it was half his size.

It was a long thin shape.

"What's this?"

"Open it up and see, Pyro."

Hiei unwrapped it and found it was a long katana. The blade was star silver and had all the markings of the goblins. The hilt was wrapped in a fire red and ice blue cloth, and had a long red chain that ended in a small disc. On each side was the kanji symbol for fire and ice.

"Here's your new sword. Guaranteed to be sharp for at least a hundred years."

Hiei looked pleased with his new sword. He vanished to test it out.

"That reminds me. Yuri wanted me to tell you to visit later. She had something she wanted to give you."

Haruka had a feeling as to _what_ her mother wanted to give her. Yuri had attracted Raion somehow, and she didn't think it was entirely because of her looks and personality.

* * *

Kurama ended up running into Raion _and_ Sirius outside the house. Haruka felt sorry for the poor fox as Yuri dragged her into the house. Sure enough, both of them were getting the talk.

* * *

Haruka had never felt so embarrassed in her life. Not even when she first discovered she had become a girl!

Kurama took Haruka out for dinner, since neither of them wanted to stay in the house at the moment. Sirius had mentioned he would be with Atsuko for a few more days. Which meant once again they would be alone. Shiori was on a business trip with the man she was going to marry.

Kurama brought their food and they both sat in silence for about five minutes. Finally, Haruka spoke.

"Well that was...mortifying."

Kurama blushed.

"Agreed. And I thought Yoko was bad."

Haruka looked at him shrewdly.

"They didn't..."

Kurama's face matched his hair.

"They gave me tips and pointers. At least they didn't talk about children..."

Haruka looked amused.

"I'm not entirely sure I can _become_ pregnant."

Kurama's mind ran with that thought for a moment before he blanched.

"Let's change the subject shall we?"

Haruka smirked as an evil idea hit her.

"How shall we break this wonderful news to Kuwabara?"

Kurama snickered. If anything it would be fun to see _his_ reaction.


	10. Chapter 10

Hiei dropped off a random video to Yusuke. Koenma had blackmailed him into being his errand boy for the day. Yusuke had taken the video with some misgivings, but said nothing. He promptly went to Haruka's house to borrow her tape player.

He wasn't surprised to see Kurama there. Or that he had Haruka curled up next to him.

"What's up?"

"New mission. Hiei dropped it off."

"Ah. Hang on a sec."

Haruka waved her hand, and a platoon of white creatures appeared. She looked at them with disinterest.

"Set up the tape player in here, please."

They saluted her, and went to work. Within minutes it was set up. Yusuke stared.

"I don't feel like getting up, and I needed to practice with my shikigami, according to Ceres."

Yusuke plopped down in the recliner, and passed the tape to the shikigami. One put the tape in, and another brought some refreshments.

Haruka snorted.

"No wonder the brat is always swamped. He wastes more time on nonsense like this when it's obvious the tape is from him."

Yusuke and Kurama snickered.

But soon their eyes were riveted to the screen. On it was a demon, but not of the usual variety.

It was a Koorime, an ice maiden. And when Haruka got a look at her eyes, she swore.

"So that's what Hiei's twin looks like!"

The two looked at her in shock.

"Hiei has a twin?" said Yusuke.

Haruka nodded. Upon closer inspection, Yusuke and Kurama saw the resemblance. Both siblings had spiked hair and red eyes.

Yusuke grinned.

"So does this mean if we rescue her, Hiei would owe us?"

"Probably, if he doesn't toast your ass first," said Haruka.

"Should we bring Kuwabara along this time?"

Haruka stared at her boyfriend, incredulous.

"Do you want him to come with us and listen to his whining again?"

Kurama winced. Kuwabara had been a pain during the whole Saint Beasts episode.

"No Kuwabara."

* * *

Hiei watched the tape from afar. He wasn't that surprised about the small white creatures, since he had been there when Ceres told her to practice with them.

So they weren't bringing Kuwabara with them? That was a relief.

As he passed the house, he noted that Sirius was leaving with flowers and a small box.

He deigned to talk to the man. After all, Sirius was his surrogate uncle who could care less that he was a demon. Plus he had a rather interesting imagination for pranking the fox.

"Finally making a move?" asked Hiei.

Sirius didn't even jump.

"How did you know?"

Hiei nodded to the box.

"That was a dead giveaway."

"Think Koenma will be recording it?"

"Probably. Especially since I will be informing the Lion."

Sirius grinned.

"Wish me luck."

"Why bother? The woman likes you enough, you treat her son like your own, and the two of you are perfect for each other."

Sirius gave him a sheepish grin.

"Fair enough. Off into the dragon's den."

"They live in very comfortable caves, not dens."

"Whatever. You know what I mean."

* * *

Hiei alerted Raion about the proposal, and he had grinned. There was no way he was going to miss that! Which is why, four hours on a bus later, there was a tapping on the window. A very tired looking Hedwig had a small mirror in her claws.

Haruka took the mirror and ordered her owl back to bed. She had been looking ill of late, and it worried her.

When she opened it, Raion was grinning at her.

"_Thought you kids would like to see how Sirius faired in proposing to Atsuko."_

Yusuke looked incredulous.

"That old hound finally proposed? It's about damn time!"

Raion had Koenma play back the tape...which upon viewing had them crowing in laughter.

Apparently Atsuko had the same sentiments that Yusuke did. Her only comment about it was _"What took you so long?"_

Which had Sirius gaping, then he laughed. Yuri, once she heard the news that Atsuko had accepted the proposal, immediately conspired with Shiori to make the preparations. (This would be a trial run for Kurama and Haruka.)

"Oh you know we're going to be drafted when we get back," said Haruka with a grin.

"Totally, but that means you guys would have to invite me to yours later!" said Yusuke.

"So does that make you brother and sister now?"

"If you want to get technical I suppose. I mean, Sirius is only my godfather, but Raion is my birth father. Either way, I suppose this means we're going to be one big messed up family."

Yusuke laughed louder.

"What better kind is there?"

"Point."

* * *

She was stuck in the tower. While the fat human had yet to figure out her real weakness, it would only be a matter of time.

She looked up when she heard a hoot. Which is how she meet the rather gorgeous snow owl outside her window.

It was rather out of place, and it looked like it was hurt or ill. Somehow it managed to get inside the barrier.

It sat on her hand, happy enough to let her pet her. It seemed to be well cared for, but something it had eaten within the last month or so was bothering it. It almost looked like two powers were colliding within it's body, making it sick.

Yukina was nothing if not kind. So in an attempt to heal the frail looking owl, she used her powers as a koorime. The result was instantaneous. Since her power closely matched the owl's natural power, the boost she gave it seemed to help get rid of whatever was making it sick.

Or so she thought. She was very startled when it burst into ice blue flames.

A tiny chick chirped from the feathers. Yukina picked it up and held it. It was so tiny and cute!

Suddenly she heard footsteps.

The tiny chick clearly had all of the intelligence of it's adult form, because it remained quiet until the fat human left. It wasn't bothered in the least by the frigid temperatures.

Yukina smiled at the tiny bird.

"What's your name?"

Hedwig the chick seemed to think, then remembered that this was Hiei's twin. She sent the koorime the vision of a female warrior. The girl understood the message well enough, though her telepathy was spotty at best.

"So your name is Senshi?"

The bird chirped.

For the next day Senshi stayed with Yukina. It seemed to grow larger with every passing hour. By the time it stabilized, the humans had come back. She worried that they would kill her only friend in this hell, but Senshi vanished before they entered the room. She turned the place into an arctic nightmare.

The pseudo-demon killed the tiny birds which normally cheered her up, and unbidden several tears fell.

The greedy human left after collecting them. The fake demon held a hint of pity for her, but did nothing.

She felt like she would cry again when she felt Senshi's claws on her shoulder. The bird had known something was coming and had done the only obvious thing. It had hidden itself.

She petted the beautiful bird, which nuzzled her like a nestling.

By nightfall it was giving her something to think about. Someone was coming for her, and they weren't happy about the fact that she was being held captive at all.

* * *

Haruka had been very surprised by the ice phoenix which had shown up. And her shock grew when she realized who it was.

"_Hedwig_?"

The majestic bird chirped, and landed on her shoulder exactly the way Hedwig did. Kurama sniffed the air, and looked in disbelief.

"That phoenix is a demon."

Realization hit Haruka. Now she knew why her beloved owl had been feeling under the weather.

"You poor thing! You were feeling sick because of the conversion, weren't you?"

The newly transformed Hedwig chirped, and Haruka petted her beloved companion. At least now she wouldn't have to worry about Hedwig dying of old age. Or from a spell. Phoenixes were notoriously hard to kill because of their ability to be reborn.

Hedwig's eyes lit up, and Haruka had the sneaking suspicion that she knew where Yukina was.

"Hedwig, can you tell her we're coming to rescue her?"

A bob of the head, and Hedwig vanished.

"So what just happened?" asked Yusuke.

"I think eating all those makai bugs last month and being exposed to my magic has turned Hedwig into a phoenix demon," said Haruka.

"Something must have interfered to make it happen so quickly though."

"Do Ice Maidens have the ability to heal?" asked Haruka.

"I think so, but they never use it on outsiders."

"Yukina must have sped up the process."

"Hedwig can at least keep her company until we get there," said Haruka.

She said that with Hiei in mind. (Was currently hiding in a tree above them).

"By the way, where the hell is Hiei?" asked Yusuke.

Haruka smirked and pointed upwards.

"Ne, Kurama, have you ever noticed how rarely people look up?"

Yusuke didn't blink at the change in the way Haruka addressed Kurama.*

* * *

Yukina felt some peace as Senshi appeared again. She carried a message from her true master.

_'Yukina-chan, we're coming...'_

Yukina didn't know whether to warn them or hope that they made it there safely.

Instead, she just decided to pray to any Kami who would listen that they saved her. That it wasn't just false hope.

* * *

Haruka had the boys laughing with her random quotes as they killed the lesser yokai. It was a rather effective training exercise for Yusuke.

"Alright, next one is my turn!" announced Yusuke.

"Fine. Earth is the Insane Asylum for the universe!"

Kurama quirked a smile at that. He wouldn't doubt that comment for a second, because frankly the human race was by far more interesting than any yokai or spiritual entity.

Yusuke killed another, and said "I'm not an idiot...some parts are just missing!"

Haruka snorted.

Kurama grinned as he said "Enma must love stupid people. He made so many."

Haruka chortled.

"Here's one for Genkai. Wrinkled was NOT what I wanted to be when I grow up!"

"Here's a good one I heard once. Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning."

Yusuke and Haruka snorted with laughter. It was hard to believe that they were there to save an Ice maiden and Hiei's twin.

"Here's one that suits Kuwabara. You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me!"

Hiei watched their word play with amusement. Haruka had gotten bored with just walking/killing, which was why she suggested they outdo each other in a game of random quotes they had all heard at one time or another. So far she was winning.

"I know the perfect one for Hiei. Some people are only alive because it's illegal to kill them!" said Kurama.

The hi-koorime quirked his lips at that. It did sound like something he would say.

"Here's another good one. My husband and I divorced over religious reasons. He thought he was God and I didn't."

Yusuke and Kurama laughed. Even Botan, who had appeared the night before, snickered.

They made camp for the last time. Haruka offered to fly them all back to the apartments.

By tomorrow they would storm Tarugane's mansion, and free Yukina.

But Haruka felt a sense of unease. Like there was a predator there that was waiting. Something strong. Something not entirely human.

* * *

Haruka decided to let the bored Yusuke deal with the first real challenge they had.

She had to bite back her laughter when she realize what he just did to the demon. Kurama, however, blinked.

"Did he just..."

"The idiot copped a feel to see whether or not it was female," said Haruka, who dissolved into laughter.

"What if it had been female?" Botan nearly shrieked.

"Then I would have kicked his ass later," said Haruka, snickering.

"So that demon is...?" said Kurama, not sure he wanted to ask.

"A trannie. Rather convincing one though."

Kurama wisely dropped the subject entirely.

Once Yusuke knocked the demon out, Haruka waltzed over with a grin.

"You know if you really want to become a female, I would be more than happy to help."

The demon didn't argue that fact.

"Please?"

Haruka grinned, and gently touched the demon. It glowed for a few moments, and when the light died down, it carefully checked.

It was now female.

"Thank you!"

"No problem!" said Haruka, who ran to catch up.

"Haruka, what did you do?" said Kurama amused.

"Granted a wish. It _is_ one of my powers you know," she smirked.

"But why?"

"Because I am a special kind of dragon. I only grant what will not harm in the long run. Ceres said I should come up with something to do, so why not grant wishes?"

"Didn't you mention that doing so often does more damage than good?" asked Yusuke, tilting his head.

"Only if I grant ones that are more out of greed. Simple ones like a gender change don't actually affect the world that much. Besides...I'm bored."

Yusuke snickered, as they progressed deeper into the mansion.

After beating two more low level demons (and Haruka growing more bored by the minute) they came across a grotesque series of cages.

While Haruka wasn't a big fan of demons (aside from her friends/boyfriend) she also hated putting animals in small cages.

This Tarugane bastard was going to have to deal with the righteous fury of an animal lover.

Even if she fully planned to punt all the demons back to the Makai instead of simply letting them loose.

Haruka felt a shiver go up her spine. For the first time since she became a fully fledged dragon, she had finally met a real challenge.

Pity she didn't feel like killing either of them just yet.

The two Toguro brothers were rather infamous. The younger one used to travel with Genkai, before wishing to become a demon after winning the rather fascinating Dark Tournament. The older one was well known for being a total sadist, and having the ability to manipulate his body perfectly.

Killing him would be difficult...unless she simply roasted him.

Yusuke decided to challenge the younger one, while the older sneered at Haruka.

"So this Urameshi brat is so weak he brings a woman to fight for him?" sneered Toguro.

Haruka's hackles were raised now. How dare he look down on her because of her current gender. She hissed at him "Don't judge a book by it's cover, bakayaro!"

That pissed him off good. It wasn't long before Haruka teamed up with Yusuke, while Kurama went to keep Hiei from killing the man who caused this whole mess.

Suddenly, Yusuke found himself between a rock and hard place. Toguro was stronger than any opponent he had ever met before. Haruka shifted into her dragon form, and roared.

Surprised by the sudden appearance of a true dragon, Yusuke used Haruka's distraction to land a heavy blow to the younger brother.

Toguro went down for the count. Or at least appeared to.

* * *

Hiei took more than a little pleasure in beating the fat creep bloody. It was only Yukina's pleas that stopped him from killing the wretch.

Yukina was quick to heal Yusuke, and was fascinated by Haruka. She was definitely shocked to learn that the bird she called Senshi was really Haruka's familiar.

"Well I suppose Senshi is close enough to her name, though I think Otome would have been closer," said Haruka, musing.

"Otome?" asked Yukina.

"Her name is Hedwig, which is Germanic for 'female warrior'. Also happens to be the patron of marriage, come to think of it."

Yukina returned to the Makai for a while, once Yuri managed to get the girl back to her normal state. (Yuri also healed over a few anger issues towards humans.)


	11. Chapter 11

Haruka was very bored. Less than a week after the whole Yukina incident, and she had nothing to do. Fighting seemed to get rid of her boredom for a longer period than anything else.

So, in a purely random decision, she decided to join up for the Dark Tournament.

Normally people couldn't simply up and join the tournament due to it's bloody nature and the fact that most of the spectators were demons.

Then again, at the price of five billion yen, they were hardly going to complain about her sudden entry. The only problem was that she couldn't seem to fill the last spot on her team.

(Kurama, Hiei and Yusuke all agreed to be on her team once she explained why she had signed them up. Normally they would be against it, but she had bribed them all.)

That is, until she ran into Genkai.

"Hello, Genkai-sama. What are you doing here?"

"An old acquaintance of mine wants me to join the damn tournament again. For some reason though, there wasn't anyone else to be on the so called 'guest' team."

"Wait...tournament? As in the _Dark Tournament_?"

Genkai nodded.

"In that case join ours. We were sorely lacking on the fifth member."

Genkai raised an eyebrow.

"Your team?"

"I've got an inheritance that I don't know what to do with and I'm extremely bored. The tournament sounded like fun," shrugged Haruka.

That made Genkai whistle. She knew how much it cost simply to buy tickets!

"I suppose joining your team would be easier than dealing with a ragtag group of idiots brought together on short notice."

Haruka grinned.

"Welcome to Team Dragon!"

* * *

In a rare show of sadism, Haruka sent the annoying old goat back in England a notice.

And the dates and times of when to tune in.

"_**Dear Dumbledore**_

_**If you want to know where your precious boy-who-lived disappeared to, tune into the Dark Tournament on Hanging Neck Island. Enclosed are the dates and times that the tournament will start. Be sure to have the ENTIRE Great Hall watching!**_

_**Love  
Harry"**_

Dumbledore, when he originally received the note, had to look up the tournament. And then had to find a way to 'tune in' as Harry had put it.

Since it was obvious Harry wanted to put on a show, Dumbledore was going to give him one. He knew full well it was an idiotic idea to try and capture him during the tournament, but afterwords it would be cakewalk.

* * *

For the next two months, Haruka trained with her team. Genkai was teaching Yusuke more about spirit energy (since she was the only person able to get anything stick in that thick head of his) while Hiei and Kurama sparred with Kuwabara.

Haruka had brought him in after learning that they might be short a member because of Toguro.

Hiei had been more than delighted to bring Kuwabara up to speed.

(If only to keep the idiot far, far away from his sister. For some reason, the moron fell in love when he first saw her, and even learning that she was Hiei's twin didn't stop him.)

Kurama and Haruka spent their time between fighting like they were trying to kill each other (which was much easier than Haruka thought, because dragons and foxes normally don't mix) and going out on dates.

In what seemed like a blink of an eye, the tournament arrived.

Haruka spent a good chunk of cash to buy a helicopter...which she flew to the island.

Unknown to them, the 'guest' team this year would make the tournament very interesting. It was a hand selected team of Dumbledore's best lackeys.

Sent to capture Harry Potter and bring him back to safety.

Haruka loved the look of complete shock when they found out how much she had to pay for them to enter. And the looks on their faces when they learned that she had over ten times that amount in her bank account...

Well, let's just say that they all got an allowance to blow on the stands.

* * *

While Haruka walked through the hotel, she noted something odd. Which was saying something considering demons were in and of themselves odd.

They looked like normal humans. Their aura _felt_ like normal humans. And when she went closer, she realized that they _were_ normal humans.

Well...normal by her standards.

And to top it all off, they were all magical in nature!

And then Haruka heard them talking. Something about a retrieval team.

"Excuse me, but why the hell are there normal humans here as a guest team?" she asked one of the waiters.

"Oh them? Some old geezer in the West paid off the sponsors so that they could come in as a guest team. Didn't seem to care if they got killed before reaching here though."

"Did this old geezer have a name?"

"Albus something. I doubt they'll last long. Which team you with?"

"I'm the backup for the guest team," said Haruka with a straight face.

The man nodded...and didn't realize that the girl had skipped out on paying for her rather large meal.

She giggled, and said to herself.

"Kurama _must_ be rubbing off on me!"

* * *

The next morning started with a rather big surprise. Sometime in the night Haruka had switched to Harry...and was still curled up to Kurama.

Kuwabara, who had offered to wake the two up, had walked in on the scene and squawked so loudly that both of them threw something heavy at him.

He narrowly ducked in time.

"Morning..." yawned Harry.

Yusuke handed him the coffee without a word. In the days after Sirius and his mother married, he had developed a sixth sense to his new brother/sister's sleeping habits.

And learned the hard way do not wake her up unless you have a death wish. Haruka without her morning caffiene was worse than his mother on a binge...though to be fair, since Sirius had come into her life the drinking problem was being resolved.

Now she could stay sober for days on end without being flat out drunk. Yusuke had to admit he liked the improvement.

Harry drank the coffee without looking at it, and grimaced when he realized that Yusuke forgot the sugar...again. Much to the amusement of his new brother, Harry had a bit of a sweet tooth.

Kurama poured the next cup, and tossed in three cubes. Harry drank it, and his mood improved enough that he wasn't going to kill Kuwabara for waking them up.

"So who are we fighting today?" he asked, chipper.

"Some low level idiots...the guest team that was entered at the last minute has to face another low level group," said Hiei.

"Can we go watch that massacre? I'm in the mood to enjoy some senseless bloodshed," grinned Harry.

Hiei looked at Kurama with suspicion.

"What the hell did you put in his coffee?"

"Sugar, and nothing else."

Harry laughed.

"Oh please. I want to see them face a real fight, since the guest team is nothing but a pack of dogs sent to drag me back to England," said Harry.

Kurama looked angry about that. There was no way he was going to let some jumped up humans take away his boyfriend/girlfriend!

"So how about we decide who goes up depending on who our challenger is?" he asked.

It was as close to a plan as they could get.

* * *

Koto stood up on the arena, and introduced the teams.

"And now for our team captains to step onto the stage!"

Harry walked up with a shit eating grin while the demon walked up with a smirk.

"In the blue corner we have Team Dragon! In the red corner we have team Rokuyoukai!"

The demons cheered when they saw the red corner. The only thing that kept them from booing Team Dragon outright was the fact that Harry had paid in full.

Well, that and the fact that if Harry wanted he could roast them all in a heartbeat and not give a damn. Demons knew a dragon when they saw one.

"How does a duel to the death or surrender sound?" asked Harry sweetly.

The blonde youkai agreed, his expression merciless. If any of the team faced him, they wouldn't be able to say surrender. He would crush their windpipes before he would allow that!

Harry jumped down off the platform and said with a straight face "I call dibs on blondie."

"No fair! He's a fire demon, I want to fight him!"

Harry blinked twice. Did Hiei just _whine_?

"Keep whining and I will toss you to that chibi brat," said Harry flatly.

Kurama snickered.

"I'll take the kid. Should be a decent enough warm up," said Genkai. She didn't feel the need to hide who she was.

Apparently the fact that Harry was a Celestial Dragon had given them some measure of protection against the lesser demons who wanted them dead. If they wanted to kill any of them, they would have to take out Harry.

Considering the strongest demon on the island was Toguro, none of the others were idiot enough to try.

Genkai did a double flip onto the arena, and Harry laughed.

"Show off."

Genkai flipped him off, which set Yusuke off. He found it hilarious!

Harry snickered instead. It didn't take long for Genkai to get annoyed with Rinku and give him the ass whooping of a lifetime. Yusuke and Harry found the sight so funny they were on the ground laughing. Even Hiei was trying not to laugh.

Once she was done, Rinku practically ran off the arena, opting to forfeit. Even he knew better than to challenge Genkai.

Next was Kurama. Once he learned that the demon was trying to blackmail him using his human mother, his Yoko side woke up.

Roto didn't stand a chance with Yoko Kurama after him.

"I'm amazed he didn't know that she's protected by a demon hunter who knows what he's doing," snorted Hiei.

Kurama looked at Harry in concern.

"Raion promised to look after her when he learned that we entered the tournament. He only requested that we rob the losing teams blind."

"Why would he say something like that?" asked Yusuke.

"I had to pay five billion just to enter us into this damn tournament. I fully intend to get my money back, even if I have to rob the losers!" said Harry.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" asked Kurama, amused.

Harry looked at him with a grin.

"Why bribing you with half the cut of course!" he chirped.

Hiei couldn't help it. He started laughing at the look on Kurama's face.

Yoko was still awake, and gave Kurama a suggestion he agreed with.

"Oh I'm sure there are other ways you can pay me for my help," he purred.

"Eh? Like what?" asked Harry.

Yusuke and Hiei looked at each other, and tried not to laugh. Harry was actually quite clueless.

Finally Harry went up. He sensed a large camera focusing on him again.

He knew exactly where it was sending the feed. Though he did wonder if Bulgaria and France got the same reception.

The blond demon jumped on the stage. He looked more amused by Harry than anything.

Once they were given the signal to attack, he started it off by launching a fireball before Harry could react.

Too bad Harry was fireproof.

His eyes became catlike, and his fangs came out. His laugh, which had been childlike and calming before, was now terrifying and deep.

"_You seriously expect a dragon to be threatened by flames? This is a real fireball!"_

Harry took a deep breath and blew a massive ball of flames at Zeru. The look in his eyes would have made Yusuke laugh.

It wasn't until Zeru made the mistake of calling him a freak that Harry lost his temper.

The stream of fire that incinerated Zeru was hot enough that the demons just standing above him turned to ash upon contact. There was only a bare outline of the demon left.

"_No one...calls me a freak and gets away with it,"_ snarled Harry.

"Winner, Team Dragon!" said Koto weakly.

Harry jumped off the stage...and it wasn't until Kurama held a vial of vinegar under his nose that his eyes went back to normal.

"What was that about?" asked Yusuke.

"My...relatives...back in England could put most demons to shame when it comes to cruelty. Demons may kill children and even eat them, but at least they have some decency."

"What!"

"Petunia and Vernon Dursley...if I ever run into them again, they had better hope I am in a forgiving mood," growled Harry.

Yusuke went up next, and faced Chu. Harry's mood improved when he realized that he had found a demon version of his brother.

* * *

Dumbledore watched the battle in something close to horror. The children (those who were old enough to watch muggle horror films without having nightmares) all cheered Harry on. They didn't seem to realize the implications of his fire-breathing abilities at all!

After Harry's group advanced to the next round, Dumbledore switched over to his team.

Team Phoenix was clearly the underdog, but he had chosen his group with care.

* * *

Severus Snape had not been happy to be the official leader of this ragtag bunch. Though he didn't complain because he had been chosen over McGonagall. Dolores Umbridge was the unofficial team captain, Moody was the twitchy hex happy ex Auror, Bill was the curse breaker who knew more spells that could kill anything inhuman and Hagrid was their powerhouse.

Dumbledore had managed to get the man a new wand, with approval from the ministry. And if any of them died, well they had a back up by the name of Nymphadora Tonks.

In exchange for letting Hagrid carry a wand, they had to suffer through the Umbitch's presence.

Frankly Snape couldn't wait for the woman to get eaten by the demons so they could quit listening to her simpering voice. It had a way of grating on your nerves faster than a spoiled child's whining.

At least he took pity on his team by handing out heavy duty migraine potions after being forced to listen to another one of her rants about inhuman creatures.

* * *

Harry lead them to a special VIP booth that was filled with all sorts of goodies. What they didn't eat or use, Yusuke stole.

Harry didn't mind since he had already paid for it.

It wasn't until he realized _who_ was on the guest team that he started laughing like an insane asylum escapee.

"What?" asked Yusuke.

"Severus Snape, Mad Eye Moody, A Weasly and Hagrid are on the guest team? What the hell was that idiot smoking to send _them_ in here?"

"You know those people?" asked Hiei.

"Most of them. Mad Eye was the Defense teacher when I left, though he had been held hostage for nine months, Snape is my old potions teacher and Hagrid is a good friend of mine. Last I heard he's half Giant."

"And the others?" asked Yusuke.

"Well the red head I think might be a Weasly. Can't tell from this distance. Don't know who the other two are though..."

They watched in disbelief as the guest team narrowly survived to the next round.

Mad Eye had a broken arm, Snape was nursing a nasty burn, and Weasly looked like he had gotten some poison in him. Hagrid, due to his giant blood, had crushed his opponent with relative ease.

Just because he was a gentle giant didn't mean he was afraid to fight.

Kurama sensed what his boyfriend was planning before he left the VIP booth. So he grabbed his healing kit and walked with him.

"Going to help the underdog?" he said.

"Absolutely. I happen to like the Weasly clan, and Hagrid was the first person to rescue me from my so called relatives."

The minute Snape realized who was heading towards them, his scowl deepened, if it was possible.

"Show me your arm Snape, and don't dawdle," said Harry calmly.

His eyebrows rose in surprise at the tone, but he complied. A sickly green light came from Harry's hand, and in minutes the burn was completely healed without even a scar to show for it.

Kurama was giving Bill the antidote to the poison, having deduced which one it was within minutes. Harry went to work on Mad Eyes' arm.

"So did the old goat send you lot to retrieve me?" he asked calmly.

"The fool has it in his mind that you were kidnapped," said Snape.

"Bollocks. I left of my own accord, though I had help. Even if he wants me to return, I can't. I was expressly forbidden from entering Europe until I come of age."

"By whom?" simpered Umbridge.

Harry gave her a sidelong look. Her voice made his skin crawl.

"The High Council of Dragons. They aren't too happy about the Ministry you know. As a new Celestial I am bound to their laws."

"That and his parents happen to live in Tokyo," said Kurama, adding his bit.

Snape's eyes widened further.

"But..."

"You'll find that in Japan, the afterlife isn't as far as you think. That should do it, Moody."

Moody tested his arm, and found the break to have been healed perfectly.

"Not bad Potter."

"I wished for healing, and that's what I got. Since you lot have been brought in as the guest team, you should stick close to ours. These demons are leaving us alone because of me, but you don't have the same protection."


	12. Chapter 12

Once they reached the hotel room, a round of introductions was made. Though they had kicked Umbridge out once she let off a real rant about the fact she had to rely on demons for protection.

No one was really going to complain if she got eaten...or served as a dish to the other teams.

As Harry had suspected, the red head was a Weasly. The oldest Weasly child.

"So you're Bill. The terror twins had told me great things about you. Is it true that you're the reason they became pranksters?"

Snape glared at Bill.

Bill on the other hand, grinned like an idiot.

"How are those two troublemakers?"

"Last I heard, they were planning to buy out Zonko's."

"Why are you here, Potter?" asked Mad Eye.

"Because I was bored. Besides, if I hadn't entered us as a normal team, the idiots who run this farce would have dragged us in anyway because we rescued Hiei's sister from one of their former members."

Of course that lead to Harry telling them the whole tale with only a few pieces missing.

Bill whistled in appreciation. Hagrid looked wistful. Harry remembered that the man always had a love for dragons.

That was when he remembered the fifth member of their team.

"Anyone know where that damn toad went to?"

They all shook their heads. As far as they knew the woman was back in the room, plotting her revenge. Tonks went to check.

"She's not there!"

Harry didn't look too happy...then again the woman had insulted him to his face.

"I'll go look for her. Maybe if we're lucky she'll be dead before words gets out that you are under my protection..." he grumbled.

None of the wizards offered any protests. The woman had gotten on their nerves from the beginning. Even Hagrid hated her, and he usually got along with everyone.

Harry found the toad facing a group of youkai who looked ready to kill her.

Apparently they found her just as repulsive as her own team did, because none of them looked ready to eat her.

One of the shorter robed youkai glanced in his direction.

"You know this...person?" he asked. He had a distinct accent that Harry remembered.

"I know most of her team, but frankly if you killed her there wouldn't be much anger towards you," he said flatly.

"Aren't you the Celestial who entered out of boredom?" asked the other short demon.

"That would be me."

"I thought the rumors said you were..."

"I was born this way, and can switch to that aspect whenever I feel like it."

One of the bigger demons went to crush the toad.

"Go ahead and get rid of her...before words spreads that the guest team happens to be under my protection," Harry waved him off.

Umbridge looked livid. How _dare_ he allow someone like her to be killed!

"How dare you, you filthy half blood!" she shrieked.

Harry's eyes narrowed.

"On second thought, perhaps I should roast her myself. I have allowed your insults to slide for the moment madam, do not test me."

Umbridge shrieked at him again, and the youkai left. Even they could sense Harry's murderous aura.

"I have a fun idea... Why don't you claim that in exchange for my protection you agree to abandon one of your team to the demons to kill at their leisure?" said Harry.

Only Kurama felt the irritated tick in his attitude.

"That might actually help you. If the demons think that you abandoned the weakest of your team to fend for themselves, they might actually come to respect you enough not to kill you on sight," said Hiei.

"They would actually buy that load of codswallop?" asked Snape, incredulous.

"In the Makai, it's survival of the fittest. Any low level demon could kill Umbridge, so no one would actually _fault_ you for getting rid of her," answered Hiei.

"Whereas Tonks would be considered useful enough to keep alive, despite being the youngest," said Harry.

Tonks, while happy that they didn't call her by her maiden name, really didn't like how they had phrased that.

In an hour, they agreed it was their best option. Harry would make it known that they guest team was under his protection in exchange for not helping Umbridge out when she pissed off the demons.

It took three hours for that news to get out, and the demons started to look at the humans with something akin to respect.

"At least they quit looking at us like we're dinner," muttered Bill.

Much to their surprise, even without his protection the toad was still in the next round.

Why?

Apparently her repulsive personality/looks/voice drove off demons just as effectively as Harry's status of a dragon.

Whether or not someone would kill her from a distance was still up for debate.

"Who's our next opponent?" asked Yusuke.

"Team Ichigaki. Three mind controlled humans and two demons, last I checked," said Harry without looking up. He was playing a card game with Kurama, and was determined not to lose.

"So how has your little game with Kurama gone?" asked Botan. She brought snacks...and other guests.

Yuri had come along, since Koenma had given her permission to act as his proxy until he got there. She brought with her Keiko, Kuwabara's sister, and Yukina.

"Which one?" asked Harry.

"Have you robbed them blind yet or what?"

"Oh that. Kurama and I robbed Ichigaki and the Shinobi team blind three hours ago. If he can scrape up enough dough to bribe anyone, I would be surprised," said Harry.

Finally Kurama looked smug as he lay down a queen of hearts. Harry swore, and Yuri slapped him across the head.

"Ow! What did you do that for mum?"

Yuri looked at him, and Yusuke snickered. Genkai backhanded him across the head.

"You need to watch your language," she said curtly.

"And you need to learn not to be a hypocrite," said Genkai.

The two nursed their sore heads.

When someone knocked at the door, Yuri opened it.

Harry didn't miss a trick, as he snapped a photo before the look on Snape's face vanished from his sour facade. He didn't know the old man could do poleaxed _and_ shocked.

"Lily?" he said in shock.

"It's Yuri now. Come on in Severus."

"You two know each other?" said Harry.

"Of course we do. He's one of my old childhood friends...before he decided to join those idiots."

Harry wisely kept his mouth shut.

Seeing the look of shock on the rest of Team Phoenix was worth having to protect them.

Mad Eye looked like he was about to have a heart attack and Bill was in disbelief. Hagrid took it all in stride.

"Yuri works as a ferry girl in the afterlife, which was where I found her," said Harry.

"You make such an adorable ferry girl yourself dear," said Yuri with a smile.

Harry grimaced.

"It's a good thing that I am comfortable in both forms, or that would be so embarrassing."

"Why not let them see Haruka?" smirked Yusuke.

"One because I know full well you will do a wolf whistle, and two, because I want to get used to being Harry again. Besides, if Dumbledore sees through them what Haruka looks like, I'll never have a moments peace again," said Harry flatly.

Kuwabara tossed and turned. And it wasn't because of Harry and Kurama. (Harry had tossed a rather strong silence ward around _their_ room for reasons he didn't want to explain.)

No...it was a dream about three teens and their master who was sick. When he saw that weird troll appear, he woke up in a sweat. That was too vivid!

_Meanwhile, in Harry and Kurama's room..._

Much to the surprise of Harry, Kurama had no issues with flirting with him while he was a boy. Or acting upon his baser urges.

The card game they had before finally came into play, as Harry tried to survive Yoko's way of seducing him.

When Yoko realized he was in love with Harry/Haruka, he had thrown all caution to the winds. Though he agreed to let his human half have Haruka.

Harry, however, was fair game as far as he was concerned.

When Harry walked to their small bathroom, he lightly glared at his boyfriend.

"Give me one good reason not to kick your ass."

Kurama winked at him as he replied "Because you love me too much."

"With that much sauce, I'm amazed you haven't been snatched up already."

"Why would I let some inferior demon tie me down?" purred Kurama.

"When you can have something that normally kills foxes on sight. I may as well admit defeat..." said Harry. Kurama looked like the cat who got the cream.

"Or I could get you back for making it hard to walk," smirked Harry.

From the look on Kurama's face, he doubted the boy could follow through.

Which meant his little revenge would be that much more enjoyable.

Yusuke grinned when he realized that his brother was limping. Everyone else was still sound asleep.

"So he banged you hard last night?" leered Yusuke.

"I will have my revenge," said Harry calmly.

"How? He's a centuries old fox with plenty of experience in catching people off guard," said Yusuke.

"So? What do I have in my possession, dear brother?"

Yusuke's grin widened.

"You're going to use that to sneak up on him?"

Harry grinned.

"Hell no. I'm going to go invisible and mask my scent so I can jump him later!"

Hiei walked up to them, and when he heard Harry's declaration he snorted.

"Good luck with that."

"I don't need luck. I need to be devious. Think you can help me prank Kurama and help me get back at him?"

"How?"

Harry leaned into Hiei's ear and told him quietly what he needed.

The demon's eyes widened, before he grinned evilly.

"That would do the trick. He won't know what hit him!" he snickered.

"Where are Hiei and Harry?" asked Kurama, suspicious.

"Harry needed his help looking for the master of the three controlled humans, and Hiei agreed to use his Jagan to find him," Yusuke half-lied. He was so flawless in lying that even Kurama had difficulty telling when the boy told the truth.

Since Team Ichigaki was missing two members, they decided on a battle royal.

About three fourths into the match, one side of the stadium exploded inward. In the crater was a half-dragon Harry and a very irate Hiei.

Harry had the master of the controlled humans on his back, where the man was safe from harm. He was still rather weak, but whatever Ichigaki did to poison him was gone.

Hiei was scowling because half of his spirit energy had been used up in destroying the demons controlling the robot Ichigaki had sent after them.

Harry made no move towards the stage. Genkai could handle those three without his help.

Finally Genkai was ready to use an old trick she learned from a friend. The only downside was that she would be completely drained for the rest of the day after using it.

The large blast of light hit the three humans in the arena, effectively ripping out the control device.

The three men fell to the stage, unconscious.

Harry gently laid the old master down, and went up to the stage. Yusuke took out Ichigaki when he tried to cheat. When Koto announced that they would commence with the next stage in fifteen minutes, Harry walked up and announced clearly that they would only use Yusuke, Kurama and himself to fight.

The demons roared in approval, since Harry was making sure that their team would be at a disadvantage. He was also preventing any tricks from occurring through the other Team owners.

Harry would go up first, since he was in a bad mood.

Harry managed to avoid being hit by the demon's magical paints. (He was loathe to use the term magical make up.)

When he finally landed a mortal blow on the demon, he was in for a nasty surprise.

The demon in question had a last attack for anyone who killed him. Harry would be unable to use any of his dragon powers for at least five hours.

And there was no way his next fight would last that long.

He waited on the stage for the next fighter. He had been hit with only one binding, which restricted his left foot from moving at all. He seriously doubted if he could break that spell in time to get off the stage.

The next fighter was an ice demon called Touya. And he wasn't going to waste his chance to kill or maim Harry.

So Harry kept the demon talking, trying to stall until the weight on his foot wore off.

No such luck. Touya created ice shards and blew them at Harry. In a last ditch effort to avoid the rather sharp blades, he drew his wand and yelled "Protego!"

To the shock and amazement of everyone, the shield formed and held.

It was then that Harry realized something. While the demon had sealed away his spiritual powers, such as anything he could do as a dragon, it hadn't sealed his magic. (He wasn't going to question _why _that was.)

Seeing his opportunity in the shock, Harry quickly cast a weightless charm on both his legs. Instead of hindering the binding on his left leg, it went over it. He could move again!

Harry didn't waste time, as he started casting some rather impressive spells at the ice demon. Touya sensed the boy's respect for him as a fighter, and did the same. It was an all out battle between human magic and demonic powers.

After an hour of casting, dodging, weaving and running, he was beginning to tire. It was a testament to his training with his friends that he lasted this long.

So he decided to surprise Touya long enough to hit the demon with a body bind.

"_Expecto Patronum!"_

Instead of his usual stag patronus, what erupted from his wand was a massive dragon.

Touya, expecting the silvery apparition to be an _actual_ dragon that could attack, launched several icicles at the thing.

Only to be hit from behind with the full body bind. Touya fell to the arena, unable to even blink, let alone move. Koto came up, shivering and counted to ten.

When Touya couldn't get up, Harry was declared the winner of the match.

Harry would have passed out, but he felt that he owed the ice demon some courtesy and removed the bind from him.

Touya winced, and gave Harry a look.

"What the hell was that dragon you set on me?"

"Ever heard of dementors?"

Touya flinched. Any demon worth his salt avoided those things like the plague. Dementors had a nasty habit of feeding on youki and reiki.

"That was a defensive spell specifically designed for protection against them."

Touya didn't understand, so Harry gained a rather evil grin as he said loudly "You were just defeated by happy thoughts."

Jin, the demon with a heavy Scottish accent, heard that explanation and burst out laughing his ass off. Touya, the ice shinobi of the Makai, was just beaten by happy thoughts.

There was no way in hell he was going to let Snowy live _this_ one down.


	13. Chapter 13

Yusuke went up for the next round. And quickly took out a demon that specialized in using sweat of all things. (Harry and Kurama gagged from the smell.)

Finally, Jin jumped up on the stage with a grin. His good mood was infectious, especially when Touya got beaten earlier. (The way he was defeated still cracked him up.)

Harry crashed next to his boyfriend, who was helping him regain some movement in his legs. All that running was murdering him. Hiei and Genkai were at least keeping him entertained while Yusuke fought the wind demon. When the boy _finally_ knocked the demon out long enough for a ten count, Harry challenged Kurama to a Jenkan match to determine who would go next.

Kurama cheated and went up, ignoring the scowl Harry had on his face.

It didn't take long before Kurama found himself in trouble. The shinobi before him was an Earth user. Finally, when he grew fed up with the man he threw two handfuls of seeds at him, and made them grow all at once.

The resulting explosion of flora was both beautiful and horrifying. For the demons, it was a masterpiece of bloodshed and utter ruthless carnage.

For the few humans, it was a gory testament to why you should never annoy a demon with a complete mastery over plants.

Of course that wasn't the last surprise for the group. As soon as they entered the room, Botan dragged Yusuke off for something.

When he returned, everyone took one look at the thing on his head and nearly died laughing their ass off.

Yusuke had what appeared to be a blue plush toy that could only say "Puu!"

Naturally, it was deemed hilarious by everyone, and lead to Yusuke dealing with good natured ribbing from the others.

Harry grinned evilly as he took Kurama into their private room. It had been hit with so many silence and privacy wards that it was like they had a house to themselves.

* * *

Kurama immediately knew something was up. He just didn't realize _what_ until it was already too late.

Because what Harry had in his hands...was the most potent fox nip in full bloom. The scent alone was driving him wild with lust. Harry's emerald eyes glinted in amusement.

"I had Hiei locate this for me. Did you really think I would accept being the Uke that easily, fox boy?" he purred.

Youko was bleeding through now, his eyes had shifted from jade to liquid gold. Even his hair was starting to change.

"Why...aren't...you...affected?" he managed to get out.

"Bubblehead charm," Harry informed him with glee.

The fox nip he had Hiei find for him was most potent when inhaled. Which meant he could torment Kurama for hours and not be affected by the pollen.

Kurama would remember little of the night after Harry pushed him onto the bed. Though he would have a definite limp until lunch the next day.

Yusuke took one look at that and had the most lecherous smirk they had ever seen on his face the entire day.

Hiei took one look at Kurama's limp and smirked. He would have cackled, if Kurama's look hadn't promised that he would have his revenge.

"Where in the nine hells did you _find_ that damn fox nip?"

Hiei waved to the general direction with his head.

"There's a small portal ten miles that way. Apparently that's how they got most of these demons here in time for the fights. From what I can tell it's a permanent portal that only opens when the tournament is around."

Kurama blinked.

"A _permanent_ portal? Where does it lead out?"

"Somewhere near Raizen's territory from what I can tell. Why?"

"...I'll be right back."

Kurama vanished, and didn't return until late the next day. Harry was absolutely worried...and not for the reasons everyone thought.

He knew he was going to get it for the prank he played on the fox. He just had no idea what Kurama had in mind to get back at him. Considering he was gone for nearly a full day, it wouldn't be good.

Kurama had the most evil smirk on his face, and quickly dragged Harry off into another room.

Everyone's heads turned when they heard the thump. Only Yusuke was brave enough to find out what it was.

Harry had fainted from outright shock. Kurama was holding his sides, laughing his ass off.

Yusuke saw what Kurama had in his hand, and started cracking up.

"You didn't..."

Kurama's eyes glinted. In his hand was a rather attractive ring. One that was enchanted to change size in order to fit any finger.

"And what is it you think I did?" he asked, managing to calm down.

Yusuke couldn't help it, he snickered.

"You proposed to him, didn't you?"

"Something like that. Unlike humans, demons don't have marriages in the traditional sense..."

"Kurama, I am going to murder you in your sleep for that," growled Harry.

"No, you're going to do your best to keep up with me."

Harry took one look at Kurama, and prepared to run.

Yusuke, however, was blocking the door rather effectively.

"Not this time little bro. You need someone stable in your life, and I can't think of anyone better than Kurama."

"Why thank you Yusuke."

"Besides, at least this way I can get unlimited blackmail material on you!" grinned Yusuke.

Harry face palmed.

"You're only doing it for the blackmail material aren't you."

"Of course! How often does one get a new step brother and blackmail material in the same month?" he smirked.

"You are an evil older brother."

"Who told you otherwise?"

Harry did the only thing he could think of. He hexed Yusuke's slicked back hair pink, and put it in braids before the teen could move.

"That won't wear off until the next round," Harry smirked.

Yusuke heard the laughter, and ran into the bathroom.

"You little...!"

"Remember who you're talking to here Yusuke. There's nothing _little _about me. Kuwabara, on the other hand," smirked Harry.

"OI!"

Hiei smirked at the teen, who had a tendency to get on his nerves.

"As I recall, a new pencil was bigger than you."

Most of the girls blushed bright red, and looked at him expectantly.

"Whereas Harry had all of us beat...except perhaps Kurama," grinned Yusuke.

"Damn... Why do all the good ones get taken?" asked Keiko.

"Because men are more forward my dear," said Yuri with amusement.

* * *

Yusuke was being dragged by Genkai to a cave. Harry was right behind them, as Genkai wanted him to ward the area against demons just in case.

"So what are you doing again?"

"I'm giving the idiot my Spirit Orb. He's going to need it against Toguro."

"Too bad it can't increase his intelligence too," Harry shot at him. Yusuke promptly put the boy in a headlock.

"So where is Yusuke?" asked Kurama.

"Getting a power boost he'll need later. She had me create wards to keep demons away once it was over," said Harry.

"So who fights first?" asked Hiei. He was bored out of his mind.

After one paltry fight which did little more than to get Hiei's blood going, and Kurama was brought up to fight someone who claimed to be the unfortunate fisherman who didn't follow the orders he was given.

Harry wasn't the only one drooling with lust from the pheromones in the air as the mist reverted Kurama to his full demon form. However he was the only one Kurama looked at with a smirk.

"Damn...we are getting more of whatever that idiot demon used," said Harry grinning.

Kurama smirked at him.

Harry sensed Genkai's return, and passed her an arthritis potion after she glared at him. She did drink it though.

Harry finally got his chance with the idiot who sent Kuwabara packing.

"A blanket that transports people, how fun," he said sarcastically.

All he needed was to apparate back and he would be good.

Harry grinned evilly as a plan came to mind. A way to get Kurama in the mood and have a bit of fun. He turned into a partial dragon, wings and all, and smirked toothily at the now paling demon.

"_So...do you want to die fast or slow?"_

His arm was scaled and his nails were talons. His eyes were slit, like a cat's, and his canine teeth were now fangs. He had scaled wings on his back, though he would prefer feathers. If he had looked behind, he would have seen the shocked looks of the magical contingent, who assumed that this was his animagus form.

He didn't even care about the glare Umbitch was sending his way, as if he wasn't even human.

(Not that he was anymore, like he even cared. The only one remotely human in their group were Sirius and Kuwabara.)

His grin nearly made the demon shit his pants.

The fireballs he lobbed in the demon's direction however, did make the demon freak out.

* * *

"So are you a partial animagus Harry?" asked Bill.

"Not at all! My dragon form isn't even the full amount of what I can do!" cackled Harry.

"**That's true enough. Chibi here is being considered for full-dragon status once this tournament is over. His power levels are about high enough,"**said Ceres bored.

Hagrid lit up when he heard the word dragons.

"You know that gives me an idea. How do dragons raise their young usually?"

"**Communal nesting grounds, until they're old enough to fly. Mostly the really old dragons though."**

"What if they had help?"

"**The help would have to be really strong in order to handle baby dragons,"** said Ceres.

"Like about as strong as a half giant who has raised a Cerberus and an acromantula?"

"**That would do it,"** said Ceres.

"Here that Hagrid? If things work out, you can raise baby dragons and be around them all year long!"

"Even Norbert?" said Hagrid hopefully.

"Even Norbert," said Harry.

Hagrid looked ready to bawl with joy. He missed Norbert, and even the few months he saw the dragon in the reserve wasn't enough for him.

Ceres returned that night with good news.

"**The elders have agreed to allow Hagrid to help raise the infants. His love of animals is what convinced them, as was the care he showed the feral one Norbert."**

"Hagrid will be happy to hear that. What of Fluffy and Fang?"

"**Dragonettes grow quickly, and dragons can manipulate time to an extent. He can keep his job and still be around dragons."**

Harry smiled. It seemed Hagrid's wish would finally come true.

* * *

Genkai was killed by Toguro mere days before the final match. The 'Guest' team dropped out after the older Toguro killed Umbitch in the match against them. Even that foul creep didn't dare try to attack while they were under Harry's protection.

With that, the only ones left to oppose the champions were Yusuke and his team.

"So Hiei, figured out the true purpose of the Black Dragon yet?" smirked Harry.

"Yes," said Hiei tersely. It had been Harry who gave him the vital clue to the truth.

Apparently the Black Dragon and it's alternate form, the Black Dragon Wave were both requirements if you wanted to go past a certain rank among dragons. This was probably because certain responsibilities required the power boost of the Black Dragons of Hell.

Hiei was still annoyed that Harry had mastered it before he did, and he knew the true purpose of the art.

"Which one are you fighting again?" asked Hiei.

"Older Toguro. I'm the only one who can properly insure that bastard _stays_ dead," said Harry with a smirk.

"That ought to be entertaining," said Hiei with a snort.

And entertaining it was. With the death of Umbridge and the fact Harry bought Hagrid's silence with the promise he would be allowed to help raise baby dragons, he had little to fear. He played with the older Toguro until he grew bored and turned the bastard into ashes. Not even a demon can handle pure dragon fire, even from one as young as Harry was.

So Harry got off the ring and went to healing his friends, starting with Hiei. Demons and humans who used the Black Hell Dragons tended to get a great deal of damage done to their bodies. And Yukina wasn't experienced enough to reverse the damage. Kurama was just tired at the moment.

Harry took a nap beside his boyfriend, only waking a few hours later when he heard the loud thud of the spare arena being put into place. He watched, rather bored, as Yusuke drew on all his reserves to take out the younger Toguro brother.

Seeing the phoenix form of Yusuke's spirit gave Harry the idea to check him for magic later on. If it was possible, then Yusuke might be able to turn into his spirit form.

Harry was laughing his ass off when Genkai scared Yusuke. Next to him was a snickering Kurama, who was getting some odd looks from the wizards. Once they were on the mainland they were heading home.

* * *

"Harry is in Japan?" said Dumbledore.

"Not only that, but he seems to have been given a position among the Dragon clans there. He's under probation, so he isn't allowed out of the Asian countries," said Bill.

"How did he met the Dragon clans?!" said Dumbledore.

"His animagus form is a silver dragon. They probably picked up on his power and met with him at some point. Sirius is in Japan too, with his new wife," said Bill. He deliberately omitted the part about meeting James and Lily, under new names.

Snape was still trying to get his visa to Japan so he could be near Lily and away from Dumbledore. Unfortunately as a registered Death Eater it would take quite some time for it to go through.

Koenma was helping out on that end in exchange for details on Voldemort's plans. The minute he heard about the Horcruxes Voldemort had created (Snape had knowledge of at least three, but had no idea where they were) he had been furious. It had, however, given him a valid excuse to interfere in their little war since Voldemort was attempting to cheat death.

Even Enma couldn't fault his son for wanting to insure those foul things were destroyed, and all knowledge of how to create one were gone.

Dumbledore fumed as he tried to figure out a way to convince the Dragon clans to let Harry return to England long enough to die in the name of the Greater Good.


End file.
